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THE BOOKS OF JEU AND THE PISTIS SOPHIA:
SYSTEM, PRACTICE, AND DEVELOPMENT OF A
RELIGIOUS GROUP
Erin M. Evans
Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Edinburgh
December 2011
ABSTRACT
The primary objective of this thesis is to argue that the Books of Jeu (in the Bruce
Codex) and the Pistis Sophia (the Askew Codex) are the product of a hitherto largely
unrecognized religious group or community emerging from the dynamic religious
climate of the first four centuries of the Common Era. It presents evidence that they
have their own coherent system of theology, cosmology and soteriology, and
demonstrates the strong ties that bind the individual tractates contained within these
texts to one another.
Chapter One provides a brief introduction to the history of the manuscripts, discusses
methodology, presents definitions and a short thesis outline, and delivers a review of
literature on the subject.
Chapter Two examines each of the texts under consideration, giving a brief overview
of their contents; arguments are presented for their chronological order, the exclusion
of certain texts and fragments from the wider codices, and reasons these texts should
be considered products of a religious group as opposed to being pure literary
products of individual thinkers.
Chapter Three traces the cosmology from the earliest to the latest of the texts,
outlining shifts that take place and proposing explanations for these changes within
an overall developmental framework.
Chapter Four examines the roles of individual figures from the earliest to the latest
texts; it demonstrates that although on the surface these roles may seem to change,
their underlying nature remains constant, supporting the notion that they are the
products of a group with a consistent underlying system.
Chapter Five analyses the profusion of diagrams found in the two Books of Jeu,
breaking them down into categories based on their nature and use as expressed by the
texts. It further demonstrates that such images had a precedent in the religious and
cultural atmosphere of Greco-Roman society.
Chapter Six discusses potential outside religious influences present in these texts,
and shows that while they are highly syncretistic, outside ideas are always
incorporated within the existing framework of the group’s system: conflicting
notions are subordinated to the existing theology and soteriology.
The thesis concludes that these texts represent evidence of a practicing religious
group that remained active over a period of time, producing multiple texts by
multiple authors, adapting to a changing religious climate but maintaining the ideas
that remained central to their underlying theological and soteriological system.
i
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby declare that I have composed this thesis, the work is my own, and that this
work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification.
Erin Evans
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was made possible by scholarships awarded by the College of
Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Overseas Research Students Awards
Scheme, for which I am very grateful.
It further could not have been accomplished without the time and support of several
individuals. These people have read my work, offered advice, and given invaluable
encouragement, which fanned the flames of academic passion and inquiry.
First, my thanks go to Dr. Paul Foster, without whose advice and supervision both
this thesis and the Masters that led to it would have been impossible. From the day I
came into his office having just discovered the unfamiliar texts, the Books of Jeu, his
encouragement and support of this project have helped it grow from amorphous
interest into the present volume. I am exceedingly thankful for his guidance and
patience over the course of this research.
I am indebted to my second supervisor, Dr. Sara Parvis, who was always ready with
astute questions and sage advice. Her calm insight and fresh outlook helped me in
times of academic frustration or stress.
Deep gratitude also goes to Prof. April DeConick. Her generous invitation to spend
a term researching at Rice University and participating in the Mellon Seminar,
“Mapping Death,” resulted in great strides in both this research and my confidence as
a fledgling academic. Her enthusiasm for my work and her immense erudition have
been of great help, both during my time there and since my return.
I would furthermore like to thank my friends both in Edinburgh and back in the US.
Their encouragement, and the number of them both willing to and interested in
hearing about my research, was a great help for my morale. My thanks must go
especially to Lee Bynum, who not only encouraged me to take the leap of faith,
change academic paths, and apply to study in Edinburgh, but who was also was
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
willing to check out and mail to Scotland the University of Illinois’ copy of the
Books of Jeu on my whim of curiosity, which then became the focus of this research.
My family has also been greatly supportive, once the shock had worn off of
discovering the school I had applied to “out East” was in fact across the Atlantic.
Their acceptance of my unorthodox journey has been immensely appreciated, and
their constant love and encouragement must be gratefully acknowledged.
In
particular my mother, Linda Evans, has been willing to proofread, check my
reasoning, and listen to the frustrations of the moment.
I would like to end this section, however, with greatest thanks to my partner,
Richard Walker. From times of elation to moments of despair he has been by my
side, ready with words of encouragement, immense patience, an engineer’s insight
on this foreign humanities field, and technical skills that have saved this document
on more than one occasion. I am immensely thankful for his psychological support
and optimism over the course of completing this thesis, and I look forward to the
future, with both our PhDs in hand.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ......................................................................................................................... i
Declaration of Originality ............................................................................................ ii
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... iii
Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... v
List of Tables and Figures........................................................................................... ix
Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... x
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXTS AND HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP ................. 1
1.1 Research Objectives....................................................................................... 2
1.2 Methodology .................................................................................................. 4
1.3 A Terminological Conundrum: What is ‘Gnostic’?....................................... 6
1.4 Review of Scholarship ................................................................................. 10
1.4.1 Translations and transcriptions........................................................ 10
1.4.2 Descriptions and interpretations ...................................................... 11
1.5 Definitions of Key Terms ............................................................................ 22
1.5.1 Emanation ........................................................................................ 22
1.5.2 Aeon................................................................................................. 23
1.5.3 Archon ............................................................................................. 23
1.5.4 Watcher............................................................................................ 24
1.5.5 Receivers ......................................................................................... 25
1.5.6 The “Jeuians”................................................................................... 26
1.6 Conclusions.................................................................................................. 26
Chapter 2: THE JEUIAN TEXTS AND THEIR USE ......................................................... 29
2.1 The Jeuian Texts .......................................................................................... 30
2.1.1 The First Book of Jeu....................................................................... 31
2.1.2 The Second Book of Jeu................................................................... 32
2.1.3 4 Pistis Sophia (a)............................................................................ 33
2.1.4 4 Pistis Sophia (b)............................................................................ 35
2.1.5 3 Pistis Sophia ................................................................................. 36
2.1.6 1 & 2 Pistis Sophia .......................................................................... 38
2.1.7 Fragments ........................................................................................ 40
2.1.8 The Untitled Text, Book of the Gnoses of the Invisible God, and
Other Fragments—Jeuian or Not? ................................................... 41
2.1.9 Summary of the Texts...................................................................... 44
2.2 Non-Communal Literary Works, or Sectarian Theological and Ritual
Handbooks?.................................................................................................. 44
2.2.1 Do Differences Signify Disparity? .................................................. 45
2.2.2 Idealized, Literary Ritual and Ascent? ............................................ 46
2.2.3 Pseudepigraphy to Confer Authority: Necessity of
Dissemination .................................................................................. 48
2.2.4 Precedents of Ritual Practice........................................................... 49
2.2.5 An Earthly Ritual Context ............................................................... 51
2.2.6 Liturgical Evidence.......................................................................... 52
2.2.7 Group Identity and Persecution ....................................................... 52
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2.3
2.2.8 Mysterious Mysteries....................................................................... 53
Conclusions .................................................................................................. 55
Chapter 3: COSMIC STRUCTURE AND HIERARCHY OF THE JEUIAN WORLD ................ 57
3.1 The Spaces of the Ineffable and the First Mystery....................................... 59
3.2 The Treasury of Light .................................................................................. 65
3.3 The Place of the Right.................................................................................. 77
3.4 The Place of the Midst (
)................................................................. 83
3.5 The Thirteenth Aeon .................................................................................... 89
3.6 The Twelve Aeons/Heimarmene/Sphere ..................................................... 96
3.7 Amente ....................................................................................................... 103
3.8 The Chaos................................................................................................... 104
3.9 The
.................................................................................................. 106
3.10 The Outer Darkness.................................................................................... 109
3.11 Summary: Cosmology by Text .................................................................. 113
3.11.1 1 Jeu ............................................................................................... 113
3.11.2 2 Jeu ............................................................................................... 114
3.11.3 4PSa ............................................................................................... 115
3.11.4 4PSb ............................................................................................... 116
3.11.5 3PS ................................................................................................. 117
3.11.6 1 & 2PS .......................................................................................... 118
3.12 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 120
Chapter 4: TRACING THE TRADITION: IMPORTANT FIGURES .................................... 123
4.1 Jeu: Divine Demiurge and Overseer .......................................................... 123
4.2 Zorokothora Melchisedek: Transporter of Light........................................ 128
4.3 The Great Sabaoth, the Good: Father of Jesus’ Earthly Soul..................... 130
4.4 The Little Sabaoth, the Good: Planetary Leader and Imparter of
Wisdom ...................................................................................................... 135
4.5 Sabaoth, the Adamas: Wicked Ruler of Fate and Materiality.................... 137
4.6 Jesus: Revealer of Mysteries with Divine Lineage .................................... 142
4.7 Conclusion.................................................................................................. 145
Chapter 5: DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU: CREATION, IDENTIFICATION, AND
ASCENSION ............................................................................................. 147
5.1 Religious and Magical Use of Seals, Diagrams and Images...................... 148
5.1.1 Hekhalot or Jewish Ascent Literature............................................ 148
5.1.2 Greco-Roman Magic...................................................................... 150
5.1.3 The Ophite Diagram ...................................................................... 152
5.2 Diagrams in the Books of Jeu..................................................................... 155
5.2.1 The Types of Jeu ............................................................................ 155
5.2.2 Characters of the Heads of the Treasuries ..................................... 158
5.2.3 Seals ............................................................................................... 160
5.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 166
Chapter 6: FORMATION OF TRADITION: REDACTION, REFORMULATION, AND
ADAPTATION .......................................................................................... 169
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
Egyptian Religion ...................................................................................... 169
6.1.1 Journey through the Gates ............................................................. 170
6.1.2 A Stellar Afterlife .......................................................................... 172
6.1.3 Ritual Procedures........................................................................... 174
6.1.4 Ouroboros Imagery........................................................................ 175
6.1.5 Decans, Astrology, and Anthropogony ......................................... 177
6.1.6 Other Entities and Imagery............................................................ 178
6.1.7 Summary of Egyptian Influence.................................................... 180
Astrology.................................................................................................... 181
6.2.1 Astrology in 1 Jeu.......................................................................... 181
6.2.2 Astrology in 2 Jeu.......................................................................... 185
6.2.3 Astrology in 4PSa .......................................................................... 187
6.2.4 Astrology in 4PSb.......................................................................... 191
6.2.5 Astrology in 3PS............................................................................ 193
6.2.6 Astrology in 1 & 2PS..................................................................... 195
6.2.7 Summary of Astrological Influence .............................................. 199
Magical Names and Words........................................................................ 200
6.3.1 Aberamentho ................................................................................. 201
6.3.2 Maskelli ......................................................................................... 206
6.3.3 Agrammachamarei......................................................................... 206
6.3.4 Bainchoooch .................................................................................. 207
6.3.5 Hekate and Typhon........................................................................ 208
6.3.6 Thernopsi Formula ........................................................................ 208
6.3.7 Summary of Magical Name Usage................................................ 209
Manichaeism .............................................................................................. 210
6.4.1 The Virgin of Light........................................................................ 210
6.4.2 Solar and Lunar Imagery ............................................................... 211
6.4.3 Purification of Light ...................................................................... 212
6.4.4 The Five Trees ............................................................................... 214
6.4.5 The Five Worlds of Darkness and the Way of the Midst .............. 215
6.4.6 Reverence of the Sun and Moon Apart from the Traditional
Planets............................................................................................ 216
6.4.7 The Five Evil Realms and Division of the Zodiac ........................ 217
6.4.8 Chariots of the Sun and Moon ....................................................... 218
6.4.9 Summary of Manichaean Influence............................................... 219
The Sethians............................................................................................... 220
6.5.1 The Sethian “Trinity” .................................................................... 221
6.5.2 The Invisible God and the Triple Powered Ones .......................... 223
6.5.3 The Barbelo ................................................................................... 225
6.5.4 Jaldabaoth ...................................................................................... 228
6.5.5 Components of the Human in 3PS ................................................ 230
6.5.6 Summary of Sethian Traces........................................................... 233
The Valentinians ........................................................................................ 234
6.6.1 The Composition of the Savior’s Body ......................................... 234
6.6.2 The Ascent of the Savior and (Pistis) Sophia’s Redemption......... 237
6.6.3 The Fall of (Pistis) Sophia ............................................................. 240
6.6.4 Summary of Valentinian Traces in the Pistis Sophia Myth........... 241
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
6.7
6.8
Mainstream Christianity............................................................................. 242
Conclusions ................................................................................................ 248
Chapter 7: CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................ 249
Appendix RANKS OF THE TREASURY OF LIGHT (2 JEU 119-125): FULL LIST ......... 255
Bibliography............................................................................................................. 257
viii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Tables:
Table 3.1:
Table 3.2:
Table 3.3:
Table 3.4:
Table 6.1:
Outline of the Cosmology in the Pistis Sophia ....................................... 58
Knowledge of the Mystery of the Ineffable (2PS 220-226).................... 64
Ranks of the Treasury of Light ............................................................... 71
Cosmology by Text ............................................................................... 122
Positions of Jupiter and Venus in the Destruction of the Ranks of
the
............................................................................................... 190
Figures:
Figure 3.1: “Jeu” Diagram Outline (Jeu 12) .............................................................. 66
Figure 3.2: Sample Page from 1 Jeu.......................................................................... 68
Figure 3.3: Possible Representation of the Spaces of the First
Mystery/Ineffable/Inheritances ............................................................... 76
Figure 5.1: Magic Gems with Characters ................................................................ 150
Figure 5.2: Sample Characters................................................................................. 151
Figure 5.3: Comparison of Gems and Figures from the Books of Jeu..................... 152
Figure 5.4: Sample of Restorations of the Ophite Diagram .................................... 153
Figure 5.5: Types of Jeu .......................................................................................... 156
Figure 5.6: Characters of the Treasury Rulers ......................................................... 159
Figure 5.7: Treasury Seals and their Names ............................................................ 161
Figure 5.8: Aeon Seals and their Names.................................................................. 163
Figure 5.9: Baptism Seals ........................................................................................ 165
Figure 6.1: Guardians over the Sixth Gate in the Papyrus of Ani ........................... 171
Figure 6.2: Comparison of Afterlife Realm Maps................................................... 171
Figure 6.3: The Fixed Circles of the Sky................................................................. 183
ix
ABBREVIATIONS
1 En
1 Jeu
1PS
2 En
2 Jeu
2PS
3 En
3PS
4PSa
4PSb
AdvHaer
Allogenes
ApJohn
Cels
GosEg
GosJud
GosPhil
GosThom
GosTruth
Haer
HypArch
InterpKnow
Keph
Marsanes
Meta
OrigWorld
Pan
PG
PGM
StelesSeth
TrimProt
TriTrac
ValExp
Zost
x
1 Enoch (Ethiopic Apocalypse)
The First Book of Jeu
Pistis Sophia, Book One
2 Enoch (Slavonic Apocalypse)
The Second Book of Jeu
Pistis Sophia, Book Two
3 Enoch (Hebrew Apocalypse)
Pistis Sophia, Book Three
Pistis Sophia, Book Four (Part One)
Pistis Sophia, Book Four (Part Two)
Adversus haereses
Allogenes
The Apocryphon of John
Contra Celsum
The Gospel of the Egyptians
The Gospel of Judas
The Gospel of Philip
The Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Truth
Refutatio omnium haeresium
The Hypostasis of the Archons
Interpretation of Knowledge
The Kephalaia of the Teacher
Marsanes
Metamorphoses
On the Origin of the World
Panarion
Patrologia Graeca
Papyri Graecae Magicae
The Three Steles of Seth
The Trimorphic Protennoia
The Tripartate Tractate
A Valentinian Exposition
Zostrianos
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXTS AND HISTORY OF
SCHOLARSHIP
The study of some of the more esoteric branches of early Christianity, the so-called
“Gnostic” sects, has long tantalized scholars. Certainly there is evidence that such
branches were both varied and widespread; however, much of this evidence is in the
form of polemic from the early Church fathers directed against these groups. The
discovery of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 provided a vast trove of new sources
from a number of different early esoteric Christian groups without the veil of
polemical venom, to the delight and edification of many modern scholars.1
The primary edition of the Nag Hammadi library in English scholarship is
Brill’s five-volume The Coptic Gnostic Library. 2 On the cover of these volumes
there is a set of esoteric symbols, with a different one highlighted on each to identify
the volume. The publishers of this important edition clearly felt that these symbols
epitomized the mysterious or mystical nature of the treatises contained in the library,
and yet the texts which are the source of these images are not contained in this set;
nor are they acknowledged in the cover design credits. This is testament to the
obscurity these particular texts have faced, almost since their arrival in the West in
the 18th century, and certainly since the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library.
Prior to that discovery, only a handful of original non-mainstream esoteric
Christian works were known. One of these was the Pistis Sophia in the Askew
Codex, purchased in 1772.3 The Pistis Sophia was and is an invaluable resource in
the study of one of the forms of non-mainstream esoteric Christian thought, having
preserved within it one of the most complete cosmologies so maligned by early
mainstream Christian heresiologists.
Before the discovery of the Pistis Sophia,
however, another set of unique esoteric Christian texts had been found. In 1769
James Bruce obtained what has now come to be known as the Bruce Codex, which
1
On the discovery, contents and importance of the Nag Hammadi library, see J.M. Robinson’s
introduction in The Nag Hammadi Library in English (first printed 1977; 3rd edition Leiden: E.J. Brill,
1996), 1-26.
2
J.M. Robinson, ed., The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices,
Vols. I-V, Leiden: Brill, 2000.
3
J.G. Buhle, Literarische Briefwechsel von Johann David Michaelis, Vol. 3 (Leipzig, 1796), 69.
1
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
contains a number of Coptic books.4 There is only one title found in the codex, “The
Book of the Great
,” given at the end of one of the texts.
Modern scholarship has come to divide the works into three books, giving them the
names the First and Second Book of Jeu 5 and the rather un-creative title Untitled
Text. The first two of these share ritual, cosmological and soteriological traits with
the books of the Pistis Sophia that are not found in any other known texts, suggesting
that they belonged to the same thought world at the very least, if not the same group
of believers. It is furthermore these two Books of Jeu of the Bruce Codex that
silently provide the images which feature prominently on the cover of The Coptic
Gnostic Library.
The condition of the Bruce Codex is now poor, with large lacunae and illpreserved papyrus leaves. Earlier scholars had access to more text than remains
today, and transcriptions have made use of both the manuscript itself and previous
transcriptions to fill in gaps.6 The contents, nonetheless, should be of interest to the
scholar of early non-mainstream esoteric Christian thought. That so little attention
has been devoted to these texts despite the recent surge of interest in the field is
somewhat perplexing; but then, the contents of the books are rather puzzling
themselves, in comparison with other works surviving from the period.
1.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
This thesis will argue that a coherent theological or ideological system is evident
spanning the Books of Jeu, the Pistis Sophia, and the fragmentary texts in the Bruce
Codex. In this series of texts rife with mysteries and syncretistic elements, it will
explore their underlying system of theogonic and cosmological ideology, and how
this system is utilized in ritual and community practice. This thesis will thus shed
4
G. Robbins, A Catalogue of a valuable collection of Oriental literature, collected by James Bruce, of
Kinnaird (1843), 35.
5
These titles were first used for these texts by C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache
aus dem Codex Brucianus (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1892).
6
At the time of writing this thesis, E. Crégheur at the University of Laval is working on a
codicological study of the Bruce Codex, along with a new transcription and commentary. His work
will be a very welcome addition to scholarship on those texts. The present work, however, is not
concerned specifically with codicology or the order of the texts within the manuscript; rather it will
focus on an analysis of the contents of these texts, their connections with the Pistis Sophia, and a
proposal of their use and development.
2
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
light on a hitherto largely overlooked religious thought community emerging from
the dynamic religious climate of the first centuries of the Common Era.
Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that these texts did not derive from mainstream
Christianity, and that despite increasing use of Jewish-Christian Scriptures and
motifs in the later texts, these likely were adopted from non-mainstream Christian
sources. As such, these texts will be examined within their own, rather than from a
predominantly Christian, context. It will help give a more complete picture of the
cultural and religious environment in which these texts developed, and show
different ways in which religious concepts were adopted and modified by certain
groups of people—whether they formed a sociologically identifiable community, or a
looser group of intellectuals sharing ideas through texts. In doing so, it will show
that these texts deserve to be studied in their own right, despite their tenuous
connections to mainstream or the better-known non-mainstream Christian groups.
Beyond the canonical texts, the well-known Jewish and Christian pseudepigrapha,
the writings of the Church Fathers, the Nag Hammadi library, and the few other
extant non-mainstream esoteric Christian codices, these texts present a relatively
sizable body of information about a separate, unique group with a distinct system of
beliefs and practices.
The present chapter will provide a brief introduction to the nature and history
of the manuscripts, discuss methodology, deliver a review of literature on the subject,
and give some key definitions.
Ch. 2 will examine each of the texts under
consideration, giving a brief overview of their contents.
Arguments will be
presented for their chronological order, the exclusion from the group of certain texts
and fragments found in the codices, and reasons these texts should be considered
products of a religious group as opposed to being pure literary products of individual
thinkers.
Ch. 3 will trace the cosmology from the earliest to the latest of the texts,
outlining shifts that take place and proposing explanations for these changes within
an overall developmental framework. Ch. 4 will examine the roles of individual
figures from the earliest to the latest texts; it will demonstrate that although on the
surface these roles may seem to change, their underlying nature remains constant,
3
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
supporting the notion that they are the products of a group with a consistent
underlying system.
Ch. 5 will present an analysis of the profusion of diagrams found in the two
Books of Jeu, breaking them down into categories based on their nature and use as
expressed by the texts. It will further demonstrate that such images had a precedent
in the religious and cultural atmosphere of Greco-Roman society. Ch. 6 will discuss
potential outside religious influences present in these texts, and show that while they
are highly syncretistic, outside ideas are always incorporated within the extant
framework of the group’s system: conflicting notions are subordinated to the existing
theology and soteriology.
Finally, Ch. 7 will present concluding remarks and
possible avenues for future research.
1.2 METHODOLOGY
Working with texts such as the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, when even the
location of their discovery is unknown, determining their precise provenance or
relationship to surrounding religious groups is nigh on impossible. However, using a
literary-critical approach to the texts’ contents, it becomes possible to trace their
internal tradition history. This method looks for signs within the text suggesting
redaction or multiple authorship, such as noteworthy differences in particular key
themes or motifs between books or passages, sections which break narrative flow
with clear beginning and end points, or the repetition of differing versions of the
same story or set of information, sometimes in quick succession. 7 In so doing it
broadly separates the larger texts into more coherent, logical divisions from which
information about their possible purpose and history can be derived. This method of
attempting to break a given text down into separate, original sources has been both
much used and much criticized in looking at certain other individual texts such as the
Apocryphon of John, which has multiple recensions and potentially includes several
7
On this method in a comparable sense in an Old Testament context, see N. Habel, Literary Criticism
of the Old Testament (Guides to Biblical Scholarship: Old Testament Series; Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1971), 1-17; J. Barton, Reading the Old Testament: Methods in Biblical Study (1984; 2nd ed.
London: Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., 1996), 20-29. On literary-critical criteria in determining
Christianization in Gnostic texts, see M. Krause, “The Christianization of Gnostic Texts,” in The New
Testament and Gnosis: Essays in Honour of Robert McL. Wilson, eds. A.H.B. Logan and A.J.M.
Wedderburn (Edinburgh: T&T Clark Ltd., 1983), 187-194.
4
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
textual strata.8 However, in the case of the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, where
only one copy exists and several texts are combined in a manuscript with unclear
order, uncertain immediate relationship to one another, or even at times indistinction
as to where one book ends and another begins, it is necessary to do this groundwork
as a basis for further analysis of the texts’ contents. In highlighting repeated but
variant versions of stories or lists in the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, this
method also demonstrates that multiple texts or traditions had been previously
produced by the group the authors of these texts represent, which were drawn upon
in the production of these works.
Having built these foundations, it becomes possible to begin to relate these
texts to elements of the teachings and practices of other esoteric religious traditions
of the first few centuries of the Common Era. This thesis will further engage in
comparative analysis of the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia with a variety of
contemporary religious concepts or movements, in order to trace the trajectory and
development of their traditions. No argument will be made for direct dependence
between the Books of Jeu or the Pistis Sophia and any other given text, but rather it
will be shown that they were written within a cultural and religious milieu where the
influence of the thoughts also extant in these various other groups was present.
Although a large focus of this thesis is the development and exegesis of the system of
the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia within itself, connections to and developments
of major religious and cultural subsets, such as Valentinianism, Sethianism,
Manichaeism, and Greco-Egyptian branches of magic and astrology will be explored.
Sufficient textual evidence remains from a variety of groups to begin a comparison
of overarching themes and elements that were utilized in these religious circles and
8
For examples of the debate, J. Doresse presents the frame-story as a later; Christian addition to a
more primitive core text, with the longer recension including further additions to the shorter (Les
livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypte: Introduction aux écrits gnostiques coptes découverts à
Khénoboskion [Paris: Librairie Plon, 1958], 228-229). M. Waldstein and F. Wisse, in their
introduction to the text, feel “there can be little doubt” that the longer version is a redaction of the
shorter (The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II, 1; III, 1; and IV, 1 with BG
8502,2 [Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995], 7). A.K. Helmbold suspects that the longer recension is prior, but
despairs of the literary-critical method providing a useful analytical tool (“The Apocryphon of John: A
Case Study in Literary Criticism,” in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 13 [1970],
173-179). Z. Pleše feels that rather than breaking it down into potentially “original” parts, viewing the
text as a coherent unit with a complex narrative strategy best accounts for the discrepancies in style or
form throughout (Poetics of the Gnostic Universe: Narrative and Cosmology in the Apocryphon of
John [Leiden: Brill, 2006], 17-19).
5
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
how these themes were creatively modified by the authors of the Books of Jeu and
the Pistis Sophia.
The discussion will utilize source texts, such as those of the Nag Hammadi
library, the Tchacos Codex, Manichaean texts and fragments, and the Greek Magical
Papyri, in addition to information gleaned from heresiological reports and modern
scholarship.
1.3 A TERMINOLOGICAL CONUNDRUM: WHAT IS ‘GNOSTIC’?
Because scholarship on the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia has almost universally
called them “Gnostic” texts, some discussion of this term and its meaning is
necessary. As A. Marjanen has noted, “during the last 20 years the definition of
‘Gnosticism’ has become the most difficult issue in the study of ‘Gnosticism.’”9 The
Messina Colloquium in 1966 proposed that Gnostic sects involve
a coherent series of characteristics that can be summarized in the idea of a divine spark
in man, deriving from the divine realm, fallen into this world of fate, birth and death,
and needing to be awakened by the divine counterpart of the self in order to be finally
reintegrated…not every gnosis is Gnosticism, but only that which involves in this
perspective the idea of the divine consubstantiality of the spark that is in need of being
awakened and reintegrated. This gnosis of Gnosticism involves the divine identity of
the knower (the Gnostic), the known (the divine substance of one’s transcendent self)
and the means by which one knows (gnosis as an implicit divine faculty is to be
awakened and actualized. The gnosis is a revelation-tradition of a different type from
the Biblical and Islamic revelation tradition).10
This definition has been widely disputed, debated, and reworked. M. Williams has
proposed the term “biblical demiurgical” myths to replace the idea of Gnosticism,
including groups which differentiate between the creator/controllers of the material
world and the highest god or principle, and which incorporate Biblical concepts in so
doing. 11 C. Markschies accepts the term “gnosis” and proposes an eight-point
typological model, also incorporating this worldly demiurgical figure, along with the
ideas of salvation coming through knowledge of the higher being and state from
9
A. Marjanen, “‘Gnosticism’,” 216, in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, S.A.
Ashbrook and D.G. Hunter, eds. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 203-219.
10
U. Bianchi, ed., Le Origini dello Gnosticismo: Colloquio di Messina 13-16 Aprile 1966 (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1967), xxvi-xxvii.
11
M. Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996), 51-52.
6
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
which humanity originated, and tendencies toward dualism.12 K. King has noted that
“Gnosticism has been classified as a marginal, sectarian, esoteric, mythical,
syncretistic, parasitic, and Oriental religion, in contrast to mainstream, authentic,
ethnic, rational, or universal religions, such as orthodox Christianity,”13 and is more
useful as a polemical term than for historical inquiry. She suggests that allowing
Valentinianism, Thomasine Christianity, and some of the Sethian works to function
as subcategories of Christianity would be more helpful than distinguishing them with
the label “Gnostic” as an “other” set aside from what people today recognize as
normative Christianity.14
B. Pearson proposes that “what we call Gnosticism originated among
unknown Jews who incorporated aspects of Platonism into their innovative
reinterpretations of their ancestral traditions.”15 B. Layton suggests that it was rather
a particular Christian school of thought that adopted Platonic notions and
terminology, but which may have been referred to with many names by its
opponents. 16 A. Logan also holds firm to the idea that the “Gnostics” can be
identified as a single, discernable group with post-Christian origins, separate from
but interacting with other groups that are frequently categorized as “Gnostic.” 17
More recently D. Brakke has also espoused the notion of limiting the term to a
specific Christian school of thought, focusing particularly on the group’s unique
myth as characterizing the backbone of its identity.18 He limits use of the term more
than Layton or Logan, restricting it to texts or contemporary references with
significant ties to the central myth.19 The group behind all of these proposals roughly
12
C. Markschies, Gnosis: An Introduction, J. Bowden, trans., (London: T&T Clark, Ltd., 2003), 1617.
13
K. King, What is Gnosticism? (Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press,
2003), 3.
14
K. King, What is Gnosticism?, 164.
15
B.A. Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007),
19.
16
B. Layton, “Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism,” in L. Michael White and O. Larry
Yarbrough, eds., The Social World of the First Christians: Essays in Honor of Wayne A. Meeks
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), 334-350.
17
A.H.B. Logan, The Gnostics: Identifying an Early Christian Cult (London: T&T Clark, 2006).
18
D. Brakke, The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2010).
19
For example, compare his list and discussion of evidence for the Gnostic School of Thought (The
Gnostics, 49-51) with B. Layton’s list of alternate names for the group he accepts as Gnostic
7
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
corresponds to H.-M. Schenke’s “Sethians,” with more or less agreement with or
refinement of his proposed set of systematic elements and his list of included texts.20
What about the texts that are the focus of this study? With such a variety of
definitions of Gnosis, one would expect these texts to be called Gnostic by some, but
to be excluded from this term by others. Works not specializing in a discussion of
“Gnosticism” almost universally refer to the texts as Gnostic.21 Discussions of the
texts prior to and immediately following the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library
also unsurprisingly refer to them as Gnostic. 22 However, more surprising is that
(“Prolegomena,” 345), or with Logan’s arguments for the whole of the Nag Hammadi library as
belonging to a Gnostic cult (The Gnostics, 18-23).
20
H.-M. Schenke, “The Phenomenon and Significance of Sethian Gnosticism,” in The Rediscovery of
Gnosticism: Proceedings of the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale, New Haven,
Connecticut, March 28-31, 1978, Vol. 2, B. Layton, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1980), 588-616.
21
H.C. Puech, “The two Books of Jeu,” in New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1, W. Schneemelcher,
ed., R. McL. Wilson, trans. (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. Ltd., 1991), 370-373; H.C. Puech, “The
Pistis Sophia,” in New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1, 361-369; F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone,
eds., “Jeu, Books of,” in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. revised (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2005) 880; F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone, eds., “Gnosticism,” in The
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 687; J.F. Kelly, “Jeu, Books of,” in The Concise
Dictionary of Early Christianity, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992), 85; J.F. Kelly,
“Pistis Sophia,” in The Concise Dictionary of Early Christianity, 140; G. Röwekamp, “Jeu, Books of,”
in Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, S. Döpp and W. Geerlings, eds., M. O’Connell, trans.
(New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000), 318-319; G. Röwekamp, “Pistis Sophia,” in
Dictionary of Early Christian Literature, 491; C.R. Coulter and P. Turner, “Authades,” in
Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities (London: McFarland & Company, 2000), 83; R.A. Norris, “Gnostic
Literature,” 21, in The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature, F. Young, L. Ayres, and A.
Louth, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 20-27, F.L. Horton, Jr., The Melchizedek
Tradition: A Critical Examination of the Sources to the Fifth Century A.D. and in the Epistle to the
Hebrews (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 131-151; E. Ferguson, Baptism in the
Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries (Cambridge: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 296-299.
22
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache; C. Schmidt, “Die in dem koptischgnostischen Codex Brucianus enthaltenen ‘Beiden Bucher Jeu’ in ihrem Verhaltnis zu der Pistis
Sophia untersucht, ” Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie 37 (1894), 555-585; C. Schmidt,
Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, Vol. 1: Die Pistis Sophia. Die beiden Bücher des Jeû. Unbekanntes
altgnostisches Werk (Leipzig 1905); C. Schmidt, Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk des
dritten Jahrhunderts aus dem Koptischen übersetzt (1925; reprint: Graz: Edition Geheimes Wissen,
2010); C. Schmidt, “Die Urschrift der Pistis Sophia,” Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche
Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche, 24 (1925), 218-240; A. von Harnack, Über das
gnostische Buch Pistis-Sophia; Brod und Wasser: die eucharistischen Elemente bei Justin: zwei
Untersuchungen (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1891); A. von Harnack, Die
Chronologie des altchristlichen Litteratur bis Eusebius, Vol. 2: die Chronologie der Litteratur von
Irenaeus bis Eusebius (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’ sche Buchhandlung, 1904), 193-196; K.R. Köstlin,
“Das gnostische System des Buches Pistis Sophia,” in Theologisches Jahrbücher 13 (1854), 1-104,
137-196; G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (1905; reprint: New York: University Books,
1960); G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia: The Gnostic Tradition of Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and his
Disciples (1921; reprint: Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2005); T.S. Lea and F.B. Bond,
Gematria: A preliminary investigation of The Cabala (1917; reprint: Thame: I-H-O Books, 2005); E.
DeFaye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme: Étude Critique des Documents du Gnosticisme Chrétien aux IIe
8
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
despite the dawn of intense debate as to what Gnosticism is, most scholars who refer
to these texts still use the term “Gnostic” as a part of their description.23 There is
disagreement whether they should be classified as more “Sethian,” “Valentinian,”
“Ophite,” “Manichaean,” or some other subdivision, or what proportions of any of
these elements they contain, but the term “Gnostic” remains for many scholars as a
heuristic descriptor of the complex construction and development of ideas they
contain.
In sum, a wide variety of opinions exist about the origins and development of
what is “Gnostic,” and further whether such a term is at all viable or helpful. In
recent scholarship there appear to be two primary views for the continued use of the
term “Gnostic:” one which views it as an adjective, useful as a descriptor for a
spectrum of texts or groups concerned particularly with esoteric knowledge provided
by a revealer figure that is necessary to achieve salvation; and the second, which uses
et IIIe Siècles (Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1925); F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of
Christianity Being Studies in Religious History from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1915), 134-202; F. Legge, “Introduction,” Pistis Sophia, G. Horner, ed.
and trans.; London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1924), vii-xlviii; F.C. Burkitt,
Church and Gnosis: A study of Christian thought and speculation in the Second Century (London:
Cambridge University Press, 1932), 62-91; P.D. Scott-Moncrieff, Paganism and Christianity in Egypt
(Cambridge: 1913); H. Leisegang, Die Gnosis (Leipzig: Alfred Kröner Verlag, 1924), 350-389; W.
Anz, Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Gnostizismus (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung,
1897); G. Massey, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1907); E.
Amélineau, “Les traités gnostiques d’Oxford,” in Revue de l’histoire des religions (Paris: Ernest
Leroux, 1890), 176-215, 261-294; E. Amélineau, Notice sur le papyrus gnostique Bruce (Paris:
Imprimerie Nationale, 1891); E. Amélineau, Pistis Sophia: Ouvrage gnostique de Valentin (1895;
reprint: Milan: Archè, 1975); J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypte, 74-87.
23
H.-M. Schenke, “Vorwort,” in C. Schmidt, Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, Vol. 1: Die Pistis Sophia.
Die beiden Bücher des Jeû. Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk 4., um das Vorwort erweiterte Auflage
herausgegeben von Hans-Martin Schenke (1905; revised 4th edition Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1981),
xvi-xxxiv; C. Markschies, Gnosis, 40-41; A.H.B. Logan, Gnostic Truth and Christian Heresy: A Study
in the History of Gnosticism (London: T&T Clark, 1996); A.H.B. Logan, The Gnostics, 21, 43, 45, 49;
B.A. Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism, 252-255; A. Marjanen, “’Gnosticism’,” 212; R. McL. Wilson,
“Gnosticism,” 172, in Religious Diversity in the Graeco-Roman World: A Survey of Recent
Scholarship, D. Cohn-Sherbok and J.M. Court. eds. (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd, 2001),
164-181; G. Lüdemann and M. Janssen, Suppressed Prayers: Gnostic Spirituality in Early
Christianity (London: SCM Press, 1998); J.G. Harris, Gnosticism: Beliefs and Practices (Brighton:
Sussex Academic Press, 1999), 74-75; M. Tardieu and J-D. Dubois, Introduction à la littérature
gnostique I: Collections retrouvées avant 1945 (Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1986), 65-91; R. van den
Broek, “Gnosticism II: Gnostic Literature,” 417-418, in Dictionary of Gnosis and Western
Esotericism: Vol. 1, W.J. Hanegraaff et al., eds. (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 417-432; A. Mastrocinque,
From Jewish Magic to Gnosticism (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005); A.D. DeConick, “Apostles as
Archons: The Fight for Authority and the Emergence of Gnosticism in the Tchacos Codex and Other
Early Christian Literature,” 244, 284-288, in The Codex Judas Papers: Proceedings of the
International Congress on the Tchacos Codex held at Rice University, Houston, Texas, March 13-16,
2008, A.D. DeConick, ed. (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 241-288; A.D. DeConick, The Thirteenth Apostle:
What the Gospel of Judas Really Says, (2007; revised edition London: Continuum, 2009), 165.
9
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
it solely to describe a particular early Christian school of thought sharing a unique
myth and set of ritual practices. The Books of Jeu and Pistis Sophia might be
considered Gnostic by the former definition, but certainly not by the latter. The use
and definition of the term are not the focus of this thesis. To avoid the confusion
caused by this term and the different definitions propsed by various scholars, here it
will be avoided as much as possible. The term “Sethian” will be preserved for the
esoteric Christian group with the distinctive myth outlined by Brakke and others.
Furthermore, it is generally accepted in modern scholarship that in the post-Christian
adjectival sense of the term Gnostic, the texts or groups under consideration also
represent different forms of early Christianity.
Thus, here the phrase “non-
mainstream esoteric Christianities” will be used, to avoid the stigma contained in the
alternative phrasing of “heterodox” Christianities.
1.4 REVIEW OF SCHOLARSHIP
Although the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia are largely uncharted territory in
comparison to much remaining mainstream and non-mainstream Christian literature
from the first few centuries, there have been a few presentations of their contents.
The Pistis Sophia has received a small quantity of scholarly attention, but in cases
where the Books of Jeu are treated at all, it is generally closely following or followed
by discussion of the Pistis Sophia. Here the focus will be on authors that have
treated both texts.
1.4.1
Translations and transcriptions
C.G. Woide was the first Western scholar to make copies of and study both the
Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia. The biblical citations for both were given in his
Appendix ad editionem Novi Testamenti in 1799.24 M.G. Schwartze next began work
on the texts in 1848, producing a transcription and Latin translation of the Pistis
Sophia, which was edited and published after his death by J.H. Petermann. 25 A
24
C.G. Woide, Appendix ad editionem Novi Testamenti Graeci e Codice MS. Alexandrino…cum
Dissertatione de Versione Bibliorum Aegyptiaca quibus subjictur Codicis Vaticani Collatio (Oxford,
1799).
25
M.G. Schwartze, Pistis Sophia: Opus Gnosticum Valentino adjudicatum, e Codice Manuscripto
Coptico Londinensi, J.H. Petermann, ed. (Berlin, 1851).
10
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
transcription of the Bruce Codex was also cut short by his death. E. Amélineau
produced the first translations of both texts into a modern language in 189126 and
1895,27 respectively, although his organization and translation of the Bruce Codex
was questionable—as G.R.S. Mead notes, “his text was based on Woide’s copy of
the Codex made a century ago, and the French savant had no idea that he was dealing
with two distinct MSS., whose leaves were jumbled up in inextricable confusion.”28
C. Schmidt was the next to tackle these texts, working extensively to put the leaves
of the Bruce Codex into a logical order from the jumble in which they had been
bound. His German translation and commentary were published in 1892, and his
ordering and translation have been generally accepted since.29 His translation of the
Pistis Sophia followed in 1905, and it, too, is still well-regarded. 30 G.R.S. Mead
published an English translation of only the Pistis Sophia in 1896, but provided
synopses and discussion at some length about both works in his book Fragments of a
Faith Forgotten. Finally, V. MacDermot published English translations of both texts
based on Schmidt’s work in 1978.31 In this thesis, page numbers and translations in
references to the source texts are taken from these latter editions, except for where it
is noted that the present author has modified the translation.
1.4.2
1.4.2.1
Descriptions and interpretations
E. Amélineau
Amélineau provides introductions with his translations of both works. However, as
previously mentioned, his translation of the Bruce Codex was based upon Woide’s
transcription with little further editing, resulting in a largely nonsensical ordering of
the text. He wrongly interprets a number of the cryptograms found in the text, failing
to recognize the cosmological language favored by the author in light of his slant
26
E. Amélineau, Notice sur le papyrus gnostique Bruce.
E. Amélineau, Pistis Sophia: Ouvrage gnostique de Valentin.
28
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 455.
29
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache.
30
C. Schmidt, Koptisch-gnostische Schriften.
31
C. Schmidt, ed., The Books of Jeu and the Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex, V. MacDermot, trans.,
(Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1978), and Pistis Sophia (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1978).
27
11
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
toward Valentinian or Basilidian terminology.32 He presents a strong argument for a
Greek original for the Pistis Sophia;33 and his belief in Valentinian authorship causes
him to date the Greek original of that text to the second century.34 He also believes
that a Valentinian origin for the texts of the Bruce Codex is possible, positing a
possible mid-second century date for their original composition.35 He suggests that
the Greek original for the Coptic translation that we possess must stem from the
second or third century.36
His discussion of the Pistis Sophia attached to his translation of the text is
also quite bold. He refines his own previous opinion on the authorship of the texts,
stating now that rather than simply being a work of pure Valentinianism from the
Eastern school, it is a text penned by Valentinus himself—although the translation
that we have is poor and from several centuries after the great “docteur gnostique.”37
It is a stretch from the text itself and the descriptions of the Church Fathers to argue
for a Valentinian authorship, let alone that it stems from Valentinus himself, but he
sees no issue with such creative inferences. Thus for Amélineau, there is no problem
with only 13 aeons or 24 emanations being discussed in the text—the numbers 30 or
32 are assumed to exist, to fit in with the heresiological descriptions of the
Valentinian cosmology.38 That the aeons, usually described as beings in descriptions
of Valentinianism, here refer to places or regions, simply shows a case of metonymy
on the part of the heresiologists—although he is at a loss as to how to explain the
concepts of “male” and “female” worlds. The list goes on, but to him the Pistis
Sophia is “à peu près identique à ce que nous connaissons par ailleurs, c’est-á-dire
par les oeuvres des Pères de l’Église. On peut donc affirmer, sans crainte de se
32
See the interpretations of the cryptograms in the introduction of E. Amélineau, Notice sur le
papyrus gnostique Bruce, 73-77. Particularly noteworthy is the confusion of the sign for “treasury” as
meaning “aeon,” and the sign for “light” as meaning “treasury,” thus rendering the frequent pairing of
the two the “aeon of the treasury” rather than the “treasury of the light.”
33
E. Amélineau, Pistis Sophia, x-xi.
34
Although he proposes that the copy extant today is from the 9th or 10th century (!), a date far later
than any other scholar suggests (Pistis Sophia, ix-x).
35
E. Amélineau, “Les traités gnostiques d’Oxford,” 212-213.
36
E. Amélineau, Notice sur le papyrus gnostique Bruce, 72.
37
E. Amélineau, Pistis Sophia, i, xi-xviii.
38
In relation to the sixty treasuries of the Bruce Codex he does cite Hippolytus’ Haer VI.34, where a
mathematical interpretation of Valentinus’ pleroma reflects Pythagorean divisions of a circle into 12,
30, or 60 parts (E. Amélineau, “Les traités gnostiques d’Oxford,” 200).
12
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
tromper, que l’ouvrage connu sous le nom de Pistis Sophia a Valentin pour auteur.”39
The discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices, however, has put such opinions to rest.
Amélineau’s work translating the texts into a modern language was landmark
for bringing them to a wider audience.
However, subsequent scholarship has
superceded his theories.
1.4.2.2
C. Schmidt
Schmidt’s work on the texts vastly advanced their accessibility and understanding.
He wrote extensively on the systems of the texts and the connections between
them.40 Moreover, he firmly believed that the treatises in the Bruce Codex were
identical with the two “Books of Jeu” mentioned in the Pistis Sophia, and it is his
work on the subject that has caused these texts to be referred to as such in modern
scholarship. His arguments for the exact identification of the Bruce Codex treatise
with the “Books of Jeu” are not entirely unquestionable—for example, the
suggestion that the caption “The Book of the Great
” is
actually an abbreviation of the longer title “The Book of the Great
of Jeu,” which the later author of the Pistis Sophia further shortened to
the “two books of Jeu,” seems to require a stretch of the imagination.41 Regardless
of whether the texts are identical or simply based on a shared source document, his
overall connection of the contents of these texts with the ideas presented in the Pistis
Sophia is persuasive.
Furthermore, as previously discussed, his ordering of the leaves and division
of the texts of the Bruce Codex have largely been accepted by later scholars, with a
few exceptions which will be seen below. One of the more contentious issues
regarding his ordering was the exclusion of certain leaves from the main works as
fragments of other texts.
His arguments for their exclusion are convincing,
especially upon further investigation of both the texts and fragments in comparison
39
E. Amélineau, Pistis Sophia, xv.
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache aus dem Codex Brucianus; “Die in dem
koptisch-gnostischen Codex Brucianus enthaltenen Beiden Bucher Jeu;” Koptisch-gnostische
Schriften, Vol. 1, ix-xxiv; Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 7-77.
41
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 27; C. Schmidt, ‘Die in dem koptischgnostischen Codex Brucianus enthaltenen “Beiden Bucher Jeu”,’ 573-754. See also his discussion in
Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 62-66.
40
13
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
to the Pistis Sophia. The Books of Jeu are in his view older than the Pistis Sophia.
The fourth book of the Pistis Sophia42 is further seen to be older than the rest of the
texts in the Askew Codex, but younger than the Books of Jeu: among other things, it
uses the older liturgical formula found in prayers in the Books of Jeu, but has further
embellished it, and reflects a later tradition of Jeu’s position in the cosmological
hierarchy. He proposes a late third-century date for the Greek originals of 1-3PS,43
an early third-century date for 4PS 44 and both Books of Jeu, 45 and although he
originally posited a fifth-century date for the manuscripts, this is later revised to the
fourth century.46
1.4.2.3
G.R.S. Mead
Although the bulk of Mead’s scholarship on this set of texts focuses on the Pistis
Sophia, he does provide a description of the Books of Jeu in his book Fragments of a
Faith Forgotten, along with some observations on the texts and their relationships
and potential interpretations. He does not believe the texts of the Bruce Codex to be
the “Books of Ieou” referenced in the Pistis Sophia, but rather that they are based on
another document which reworked the said texts. Thus he calls the works by the
titles found in the texts themselves, the Book of the Great Logos According to the
Mystery.
He is one of the most conservative of the early scholars as far as
identifying the texts with a particular school or author: he believes the texts may
have come from the “workshop” of Valentinus, seeing in them a “long life of labour”
reformulating ancient gnosis in the light of the gnosis of the Living Master. He
states, however, “that this can ever be proved beyond cavil I have no hope, for we
know practically nothing of him and his writings; we only know of his great
reputation, and of his attempted reformulation of the Gnosis.
Indeed so-called
Valentinianism helps us not at all in this speculation…”47 In his discussions, he does
42
In this thesis the fourth book is divided and called 4PSa and 4PSb for reasons to be explored in Ch.
2, but as Schmidt and much other earlier scholarship did not recognize this divide, in this section it is
referred to as 4PS.
43
C. Schmidt, Koptische-gnostische Schriften, xvii.
44
C. Schmidt, Koptische-gnostische Schriften, xvii.
45
C. Schmidt, Koptische-gnostische Schriften, xxvi.
46
C. Schmidt, Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 14; this is regarding the Pistis Sophia in
particular.
47
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 570.
14
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
not make efforts to squeeze the texts at hand into what he thinks they should say to
support Valentinian authorship or a relationship to a particular known group, nor
does he write them off as inane ramblings because they do not obviously exhibit such
features, as do several later scholars. He looks at them largely on their own terms.
As noted above, he sees all of these texts as stemming from the same school
of thought, or “workshop” of reformulation of wider gnosis. He suggests an early
date: while the compilers clearly had access to the same sayings-material as did those
of the canonical gospels, the indifference used in citing the letters of Paul (3PS 293)
argues for an earlier rather than a later date. Thus a second century date seems most
satisfactory to him. He notes that the evolution of the universe is in a certain order,
but that this order seems to change in involution: “the soteriology modifies the
aeonology and cosmology.”48 For this reason he sees The Book of the Great Logos
and 4PS to contain an “older form” than the rest of the Pistis Sophia.
As for the summary of the texts themselves, he does occasionally fall prey to
the temptation to read certain parallels or symbolism where such is unlikely to be
found, but largely gives a straightforward presentation of the contents. He reverses
the order of the Books of Jeu suggested by Schmidt, feeling that the description and
tutelage of the lower regions would have come before that of the upper. His analyses
of some of the diagrams do delve rather deeply into the realm of the imagination—
the description of the diagram of the first moment of emanation as depicting a
spermatozoon and ovum,49 for example, seeming a bit anachronistic—but the fact
that he gives them any analytical attention at all sets him apart from the bulk of
scholars.
In sum, Mead treats the texts largely in relationship to themselves, allowing
him a clearer view of their contents apart from trying to force them into preconceived
religious or philosophical notions taken from the Church Fathers. Despite occasional
debatable readings or analyses of the texts, he looks for a more holistic
understanding, appreciating the theosophical and psychological concerns of the
authors or compilers.
48
49
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 574.
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 536.
15
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
1.4.2.4
F. Legge
In Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, Legge devotes a chapter to “The system
of the Pistis Sophia and related texts.”50 As the title suggests, while the texts of the
Bruce Codex are included, they are considered to be of minor interest in comparison
to the Pistis Sophia. As far as the texts of the Askew Codex are concerned, he views
the first two as the Pistis Sophia proper, an uncompleted but consistent unit. This
unit presupposes “belief in a Gnostic system resembling at once those of the Ophites
and of Valentinus.”51 These two texts he believes to have been written by Valentinus
himself, again with the present translation being undertaken long after the original
was penned.52 4PS, or part of the “Texts of the Savior,” he sees as being a later
document, and 3PS as an extract from the same texts and “placed out of its natural
order to satisfy the pedantry of the scribes, the rule in such cases being that the
longer document should always come first.”53 He later is one of the only scholars to
acknowledge the separation of 4PSa and 4PSb, and to note the similarities between
4PSb and 3PS.54
Legge believes the texts of the Bruce Codex assume knowledge found in the
Pistis Sophia. Hence, he states that “it follows that none of the contents of the
Papyrus can be considered as any part of the ‘Books of Jeû’ mentioned in the Pistis
Sophia, which, therefore, remains the parent document on which all the others are
based.”55 He sees no issue in assuming that things mentioned but not explained in
4PS or the texts of the Bruce Codex must display their later date and dependency on
the texts called the Pistis Sophia proper, while also reading suppositions into the
texts of the Pistis Sophia itself where something is not explained or could find
further explanation in these “later” texts.56 For the Greek originals from which the
Bruce Codex texts were translated, he refrains from offering a date; he cites the
50
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 134-202.
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 135.
52
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 177-180.
53
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 183.
54
F. Legge, “Introduction,” xiv-xxviii.
55
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 194.
56
For one of many examples, he comments that the author of 1/2PS must have known about the myth
of Jabraoth and Sabaoth, despite the fact that it is only alluded to in those texts and it receives fuller
treatment in 4PSa (Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 182n.2).
51
16
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
views of Amélineau and Schmidt as placing it between the second and third
centuries.57
A great deal of his views on the inferiority or incomprehensibility of the texts
of the Bruce Codex are based on his following of Amélineau’s translation and page
ordering.
He acknowledges Schmidt’s work, saying “[h]is arrangement of the
papyrus leaves makes much better sense than that of Amélineau, but it is only arrived
at by eliminating all passages which seem to be inconsequent and attributing them to
separate works.” 58 That fragments of other texts could be present in an already
fragmentary shuffling of leaves thus seems unthinkable to him, despite the presence
of fragments of indisputably separate works found in the Askew Codex. It is then
little wonder he views at least parts of the codex as being “later in date than and the
work of an author inferior to that of the Pistis Sophia.”59
His conclusions about this Egyptian branch of Gnosticism are less than
flattering:
The Pharonic Egyptian had always been fanatical, submissive like all Africans to
priestly influence, and easily absorbed in concern for his own spiritual welfare. Given
the passion for defining the undefinable and the love of useless detail which marked
everything in the old faith, and in systems like those of the Coptic texts which form the
subject of this chapter he had the religion to his mind…the appeal of Gnosticism to
those who would escape hell to renounce all earthly cares fell upon good ground, and
Egypt was soon full of ignorant ascetics withdrawn from the life of labour and spending
their days in ecstasy or contemplation until roused to seditious or turbulent action at the
bidding of their crafty and ambitious leaders. For these monks and hermits the
Hellenistic civilization might as well not have existed; but they preserved their native
superstitions without much modification, and the practices of magic, alchemy, and
divination was rife among them.60
In his view, a relatively orthodox sect spiraled downward into decadent speculation
and self-absorption, losing sight of any traces of philosophy or morality. The result
of the existence of groups such as this, however, was forcing the Church to organize,
and thus allowing it to “survive in unimpaired strength to the present day.”61
57
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 194.
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 190n.1.
59
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 161n.2.
60
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 200-201.
61
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 202.
58
17
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
1.4.2.5
E. de Faye
In further French scholarship, de Faye provides some rather acerbic observations in
his discussions of the texts. Again, the bulk of the discussion revolves around the
Pistis Sophia, but a chapter is also devoted to the texts of the Bruce codex. He
disagrees with the suppositions that the texts are Valentinian or Ophite, arguing that
the sect from which they stem is unidentifiable from the reports of the heresiologists.
He views any attempt to determine the location of their provenance as futile and
pointless, but believes the dating of the texts to be clear-cut, placing them in the third
century following the proposals of Harnack and Schmidt. 62
He does suggest
agreement in a footnote with the idea that the Bruce Codex texts are likely the two
“Books of Jeu” described in the Pistis Sophia, supposing that the baptismal rituals
described in 2 Jeu are the lesser mysteries mentioned therein. 63 He supports the
notion that the Books of Jeu and 4PS have chronological priority over the first three
books of the Pistis Sophia. This is demonstrated in the more relaxed attitude of the
disciples in the latter, due to their having already received the lower mysteries
described in the former texts and thus being assured of having some degree of
salvation. He sees additional evidence in the further development of the description
of the transcendent world in the first three Pistis Sophia texts.
He goes on,
suggesting that 1 Jeu may be prior to 2 Jeu, in part due to the nature of the
introduction of that text (as per Schmidt’s organization): he views it as having more
focus on morality and thus a more elevated tone, as opposed to the later texts which
have lost sight of their philosophical roots and become focused on pure ritual.64
His view of the set of texts is perhaps well summarized by his statement in
the conclusion to the section, that “[r]econnaissons, en conclusion, qu’en tant
qu’écrivains et philosophes, nos gnostiques coptes sont fort inférieurs. Leur pensée
n’a aucune valeur. Elle n’a servi en rien au progrès des idées. Elle est fort audessous même de la pensée de temps.”65 The only possible interest he sees in them is
their obsession with salvation.
62
E. de Faye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme, 275-276.
E. de Faye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme, 313n.1.
64
E. de Faye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme, 314; however, this introduction does not belong with either
of the Books of Jeu (see Section 2.1.8).
65
E. de Faye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme, 332-333.
63
18
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
1.4.2.6
F.C. Burkitt
Burkitt wrote several articles discussing the Pistis Sophia, which also touched upon
the Books of Jeu.66 As with the majority of scholars discussed here, he does not
think very highly of the texts, viewing “this dreary Egyptian book”67 as a “curious
farrago of half-understood Gnostic lore” whose development could only be attributed
to “a backwater in a backward isolated community.”68 Of the entirety of the two
Books of Jeu, he says that “the ‘praise’ offered to the ultimate unapproachable God
by the ‘God of truth,’ though it consisted only in the utterance of the syllables ie ie ie
[1 Jeu 51], is the only thing that really happens in the Books of Ieu: the rest, like the
paraphrases of Psalms uttered by Pistis Sophia, is nothing more than a measure of the
poverty of imagination exhibited by Coptic-speaking Gnostics.”69 Thus he seems
oblivious to the creativity contained in their hymns, praises, cosmological
speculation, theories of emanation, adjurations to ethical life, and detailed ritual
accounts. As a full overview of the contents and cosmogony of even 1-3PS would be
“confusing and fatiguing, all the more as the main principles are everywhere the
same” 70 (while still admonishing the reader not to expect consistency within the
texts, as they are purely “the products of human fancy” 71 ), he generally restrains
himself to commenting on only a few specific points within the texts.
As for the manuscripts’ date and ordering, he essentially follows Schmidt.
Thus he orders the texts from earliest to latest: the Books of Jeu, 4PS (or the
“Anonymous work”), and 1-3PS (“The Rolls of the Saviour”), with the latter forming
a basically continuous textual whole. 72 He posits a fifth-century date for the
manuscript of the Askew codex, but comments little on a proposed date for the
original contents, perhaps in part because of his views on its original language. He
66
F.C. Burkitt, “Pistis Sophia,” Journal for Theological Studies 23 (1922), 271-280; “Pistis Sophia
Again,” Journal of Theological Studies 26 (1925), 391-399; “Pistis Sophia and the Coptic Language,”
Journal of Theological Studies 27 (1926), 148-157; Church and Gnosis, 62-91.
67
F.C. Burkitt, “Pistis Sophia Again,” 391.
68
F.C. Burkitt, “Pistis Sophia and the Coptic Language,” 157.
69
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 86.
70
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 74.
71
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 63.
72
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 62.
19
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
steadfastly argues for the documents’ original composition in Coptic rather than as a
translation from Greek, and in this he engages in some debate with Schmidt.73
1.4.2.7
J. Doresse
Doresse, in his preliminary volume on the Nag Hammadi library, also provides a
chapter discussing these already-known codices (as well as the Berlin Codex).74 It is
a brief treatment of the texts, and in the first paragraph alone they are described as
…les plus compliqués, les plus incohérents sans doute que la Gnose ait jamais produits!
Mis en face de la documentation que les hérésiologues nous ont fait connaître, ils font
paraître celle-ci presque…élogieuse et bienveillante à l’égard de sects qu’ils ont bien
complaisamment prises au sérieux en leur faisant l’honneur de les refuter.75
Once again they receive an unsympathetic analysis.
In ten pages, he gives a whirlwind description of all the texts of the Pistis
Sophia, including debatable interpretations of the structure of the higher realms, and
the composition of the human being. In his discussion of 4PS in particular the
description of the workings of the upper realms is sketchy, with occasionally quite
misleading results.76 Similar confusion is present in the four pages devoted to the
Books of Jeu.77 He does, however, recognize the connection between the texts, and
agrees with the supposition that the Bruce Codex texts are identifiable as the two
“Books of Jeu” of the Pistis Sophia.
He denies direct connection with any of the heretical groups known from the
heresiologists, but does note ideas with potential connections to the Ophites78 and the
73
In addition to Burkitt’s three above-mentioned articles in JTS, see also C. Schmidt, “Die Urschrift
der Pistis Sophia.” Schmidt’s argument is convincing.
74
J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt, 74-93.
75
J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt, 74.
76
For one example, in describing the complex and detailed section which relates the capture of souls
by the great archons and the cosmic events which bring about these souls’ release, he simplifies the
situation considerably by saying that the souls are liberated by Sabaoth the Good, without specifying
to which of the two good Sabaoths he is referring (Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt, 82).
Either way the statement is incomplete or inaccurate. The Little Sabaoth the Good (here representing
Zeus or Jupiter) acts by moving into specific opposite signs of the Zodiac along with Aphrodite, not
actively freeing the souls; and the Great Sabaoth the Good appears only once through the course of the
five lengthy accounts.
77
For example, referring to the wicked god Taricheas of 2 Jeu as the “triple-power” of the Great
Archon, rather than the third power of the great archon as the text states (
c
C ). The triple-powers or tridynamis are distinct figures, the names, roles and natures
of which have been the source of great confusion for the modern scholar.
78
J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt, 75.
20
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
Manichaeans.79 For the manuscripts of both the Pistis Sophia and the Books of Jeu
he posits a fifth century date.80
One can see from this survey that opinions varied widely as to the value of the Books
of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, as well as to their date and provenance.
Little
scholarship exists on these texts, even for the period of fifty years between their
being brought to wider scholarly attention and the discovery of the Nag Hammadi
library that largely overshadowed interest in them. This demonstrates the general
view that the texts were so dense, confusing, and jumbled through issues of
transmission, translation by ignorant scribes, and the wear of time, that efforts to
work out their system in greater depth would be fruitless. There was a push to
pigeonhole the texts into one of the systems known from the Church Fathers. A
desire for more direct knowledge of these known “heresies” caused some scholars to
make bold suppositions as to the Valentinian authorship or Ophitic origins of the
Pistis Sophia at the very least.
Scholarship on the texts from the period after the discovery of the Nag
Hammadi library is exceedingly limited, and discussions of them as a connected
system or set of texts are particularly lacking. Even those few more recent authors
who devote a few pages to them, such as B.A. Pearson, 81 C. Markschies, 82 M.
Tardieu and J.-D. Dubois,83 G. Lüdemann and M. Janssen,84 E. Ferguson,85 or J.G.
Harris,
86
provide only a limited description or summary based on previous
scholarship, and contribute little to a deeper understanding of these texts. That these
texts do not fit in with one of the better-known non-mainstream esoteric Christian
schools frequently causes them to be disregarded altogether. This thesis will fill this
lacuna in scholarship. It will treat the cosmology, theology and ritual praxis found in
these texts in their own right. It will provide a thorough overview of their contents
and system, incorporating comparative analysis of information from certain other
79
J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt, 87.
J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt, 75; 84.
81
Ancient Gnosticism, 252-255.
82
Gnosis, 40-41.
83
Introduction à la littérature gnostique I, 65-91.
84
Suppressed Prayers, 26-27, 44-50, 52-56, 109-114.
85
Baptism in the Early Church, 296-298.
86
Gnosticism: Beliefs and Practices, 74-75.
80
21
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
religious groups and texts that have only become widely available to scholars in the
past several decades. In so doing, it will both clarify the position of these muchoverlooked texts and their users, and add to the larger picture of the religious climate
in the early stages of Christianity’s development.
1.5 DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS
These texts make references to beings and ideas that are present in a number of
contemporary esoteric religious or philosophical works.
However, they are
frequently used in a different sense than their meanings in some of the more
commonly studied texts of the period. Thus, before looking at the contents of the
texts themselves, some definitions of terms are needed. This section will examine
important terms within the texts themselves, as well as proposing the new term
“Jeuian” for use in scholarship.
1.5.1
Emanation
Emanations (
) are rife throughout the texts, particularly in 1 Jeu. The
description of their production or nature in the text is vague: the Father of Jesus, who
is the unapproachable God, emanates Jeu, the true God; then, a multitude of
emanations come forth from Jeu through the command of the Father (1 Jeu 47-48).
Much of the text is dedicated to outlining and naming the ranks of emanations
brought forth by each of the “heads” that Jeu emanates (1 Jeu 52-78). Each is given
a “magical” name or nomina barbarum; however, no further information is given as
to their appearance, role, or nature. These are the beings that fill the Treasury of
Light in great numbers; it is knowledge of their names and placement that is
considered important.
In the Pistis Sophia, the process of emanation becomes more important:
lower beings, especially the archons, are required to “emanate” their purified light or
power for collection by the receivers from the higher realms. The idea of emanations
as beings also remains, especially as specific groups of beings (for example, the 24
emanations/invisible ones of the great invisible forefather are discussed as a
complete unit in 2 Jeu and 1/2PS). Material emanations also make an appearance in
these later texts, in addition to the spiritual emanations of the higher realms; these
22
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
material emanations usually act as servants of the archons, and the specific number
or pattern of their emanation is not given.
Thus, within this discussion the term “emanation” refers to a being brought
forth from within another being, or the production of purified light or power.
1.5.2
Aeon
The term aeon (
) in the Books of Jeu/Pistis Sophia is used in the sense of a
place or realm of existence, as opposed to a type of being as is found in certain other
non-mainstream esoteric Christian traditions. 87 The Books of Jeu/Pistis Sophia
present them closely tied to the zodiac/fate. In 2 Jeu, the disciples are given the
mystery of the twelve divine aeons that they might go to their places (2 Jeu 101)—
and indeed, they proceed to travel through each aeon in that text. In one of the
fragments of the Bruce Codex, the aeons are established by Jeu and made to serve as
dwelling places of the archons (1 Jeu 79-82). The term retains largely the same
locational or spatial sense throughout the Pistis Sophia texts. Thus, it will be used
here in the sense of a plane or realm of existence, rather than as a being or entity as
in some other texts of late antiquity.
1.5.3
Archon
The archons (
C
), or “rulers,” in the present texts fill a similar role to that
attributed to them in texts such as the Apocryphon of John (III 15,23, etc) and the
Hypostasis of the Archons (87,24, etc), namely ignorant and/or jealous beings whose
main role is to cause trouble for mankind. The misguided demiurgical head-archon
does not appear in precisely the same sense in the Books of Jeu/Pistis Sophia as in
the aforementioned texts, but the figure of Sabaoth the Adamas does fill the role of
the wicked head of the archons.
Furthermore, in 4PSa 359-366 and also in one of the fragments found in the
Books of Jeu (2 Jeu 140-141), a description is given of certain great, powerful
archons who move souls to sin and then carry them off by theft. However, certain
87
See, for example, Irenaeus, AdvHaer I.1-3; 8.5; 11.1-3; 12.3-4; 16.1-2; Hippolytus, Haer VI.31;
Epiphanius, Pan 31; GosTruth 19,1 etc; TriTrac 62,23 etc; ValExp 27,38 etc; InterpKnow 12,31-36;
13,10; TrimProt 37,35 etc; GosEg III 41,5 (IV 50,17) etc.
23
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
astrological events and the actions of other divine figures such as Jeu cause their
places to be destroyed and the souls they torment to be freed. In 3PS we find the
only references to the creation of humanity, and see that the archons do have a role in
their creation—but this is not the story of the creation of the first humans, but rather
an ongoing process, and representative of the archons’ continuing battle to rule over
mankind (3PS 332-346).
They are ever-present in the struggles of man, from
conception until death, and in the torments that come afterward for one who does not
receive the mysteries.
The role of the archons will be investigated at greater length later, but for
purposes of definition they will be considered beings dwelling below the light-realm
with generally negative intentions toward humanity. They have power over human
beings, but are subject to the influence of Jeu, Jesus, and the various mysteries
imparted to the disciples and the devout.
1.5.4
Watcher
The term “watcher” (
) is used in certain examples of apocalyptic literature
(such as 1 Enoch 1-36, “The Book of the Watchers”) as a type of angel of God. In
the Books of Jeu/Pistis Sophia, however, the term is predominantly used in a way
akin to the doorkeepers in the Egyptian Book of the Dead (see Section 6.1.1).
The watchers appear most prominently in 1 Jeu, particularly in the context of
the numbered Jeu diagrams.
Each diagram names three watchers, and the text
accompanying each diagram gives three different names of the watchers. In the
description of the sixtieth Treasury of the Light, the text states that the treasury “has
three gates at its exterior…and over them are nine watchers, three over each gate.”
These watchers withdraw when one who has received the mysteries presents them
with the appropriate seals, signs and ciphers (1 Jeu 87). This corresponds with the
later statement of praise to the Father stating that he has “emanated an emanation, so
that it should produce watchers corresponding to treasuries from the first to the last
of them all” (1 Jeu 96). The other texts also make references to the “watchers of the
Treasuries of the Light,”88 both with and without the qualifier “nine” for the number
88
2 Jeu 99, 103, 118; 1PS 3, 18, 2PS 194 195, 217, 231, etc.
24
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
of the watchers. Thus, the term “watcher” refers to beings emanated for the purpose
of guarding the gates of the various Treasuries of Light. The “nine watchers” further
formed one of the mysteries needed along the path of ascent.
It should be noted that in 1PS there are two references to watchers at the gates
of the aeons (1PS 45, 48). These watchers show similar characteristics to the rest of
the aeonic inhabitants, in that they hate Pistis Sophia for striving for the light of the
higher kingdom. These references are within an allegorical, mythic context that does
not exactly cohere with the overall cosmological system, but even here the watchers
still function as guardians of the gates to a particular level or realm, as do their
cousins in the Treasury of the Light.
1.5.5
Receivers
“Receivers” (
or
) are rare in the Nag Hammadi
texts, although they do appear once in the short recension of the Apocryphon of John
(III 33,18; BG 66,6),89 once in Zostrianos (47,24), and twice in the Gospel of the
Egyptians (III 64,22 and 66,5).90 In these cases the receivers are involved in the
reception of the saved soul.
In the Books of Jeu/Pistis Sophia receivers appear frequently, and have a
variety of roles. They feature most heavily in the Pistis Sophia, although they are
mentioned in 2 Jeu: some are beings of the Treasury of the Light who bring the soul
from the body and guide it to the Treasury of Light, erasing its sins (2 Jeu 99); and
others are associated with the various regions below the Treasury (2 Jeu 101-102).
In the Pistis Sophia, these beings fill a wide variety of roles. They are involved in
transporting souls from place to place, releasing souls from their material bodies, or
guarding certain realms. Melchisedek, a high being in the ranks of the upper realms,
is frequently referred to as the “Receiver of the Light,” and he and his fellow
receivers move light elements from the lower realms into the Treasuries. There are
receivers in the outer darkness, and in the realms of the Midst; there are receivers of
the Virgin of the Light, the sun, and the moon. A concise definition of the role or
placement of the receivers is thus impossible.
89
90
Suffice it to say that the term
In the long recension, the Coptic equivalent term is found.
The counterparts in IV have variant spellings.
25
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
generally refers to a servant figure in some capacity, carrying out one of many
possible tasks depending on its master or placement in the larger cosmological
hierarchy.
1.5.6
The “Jeuians”
Because the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia do not match the systems described
by any of the heresiologists, a new term is required to describe them, the system they
share, and the people or group who used them. In this thesis, “Jeuian” is proposed as
a convenient term to describe this system, which features the being Jeu as the cosmic
demiurge. Although the term “Jeuian” is not found in the texts themselves, it is
common in scholarship (and indeed, among the early heresiologists) to refer to a
group by a name derived from a teacher or figure important to that group, regardless
of the group’s self-designation.91 For example, those groups now called “Sethian,”
“Valentinian,” “Marcosian,” etc. certainly did not refer to themselves with these
terms, but they are still used within modern scholarly parlance. Little is known about
this group’s teachers or followers, but Jeu plays a strong, positive role in all of the
texts. The Jeuians are described here primarily as a “religious group,” rather than
with the terminology of a school or community. This is because while there is strong
evidence that the texts were written and read by people with a shared belief and ritual
system, and that they were used in group practice and teaching (see Section 2.2), it is
less certain that they were united in the manner of these more specific sociological
subcategories.
1.6 CONCLUSIONS
Despite the surge of interest in recent years in the so-called Gnostic schools of the
early Christian era, and despite the relatively long period of time these texts have
been available, the Books of Jeu of the Bruce Codex and the Pistis Sophia have
remained largely overlooked by scholars. An examination of the little available
scholarship reveals mixed opinions regarding their composition, origins, and value.
In the face of this dearth of scholarship on these texts, this thesis aims to further
91
See F. Wisse, “Stalking those Elusive Sethians,” 563, in The Rediscovery of Gnosticism:
Proceedings of the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, March
28-31, 1978, Vol. 2, B. Layton, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), 563-576.
26
CHAPTER 1 • INTRODUCTION
analyze them, their use and development. It will demonstrate that they are the
product of a group or community of users, with a unique cosmology, theogony, and
ritual praxis. These texts present, among other things, a detailed guide to heavenly
ascension and baptismal or mystery rites unparalleled in any other surviving nonmainstream esoteric Christian text. They feature a largely consistent cast of divine
figures and cosmological theory, and where deviations occur, explanations within a
wider cultural context may be possible. A great deal remains to be gained from
further study of them. The information that has been gleaned from more recent
discoveries, such as the Nag Hammadi library and the Tchacos Codex, should help to
throw more light on these fascinating texts (and vice versa), rather than almost
completely overshadowing them.
27
CHAPTER 2
THE JEUIAN TEXTS AND THEIR USE
With texts such as the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, questions immediately
arise concerning the context in which they were read or used. Were they the writings
of a lone individual, taking what elements he saw fit from a variety of sources to
form his own idealized religious system? Were they the product of a community,
living and worshipping together? Did the readers view themselves as connected,
being a part of a larger group, or did they read them solely for personal, individual
knowledge and salvation?
These questions are difficult to answer, especially given the paucity of
information remaining about these texts and their users. However, certain clues do
remain that provide an outline of these texts and their socio-religious context. First,
an introduction to the extant texts that belong to the proposed “Jeuian” group is
necessary. This will be followed by an examination of the arguments for differing
sides of the “group debate”—that is, whether the texts derive from individual
thinkers, for individual use, or that they were written by and for use within a group
context.1 While arguments have been made against certain other non-mainstream
esoteric Christian texts being written or used by a group or community,2 it will be
argued here that the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia are a part of a connected
system belonging to a particular religious group. This group maintained its core
principles over time despite syncretic tendencies in its outer cosmological and
mythological trappings.
1
These are questions that have arisen during papers I have given at a number of conferences: “A
Jeuian School? Evidence for Another Developed Gnostic School,” at the SBL Annual Meeting, New
Orleans, 2009; “Sabaoth in the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia: Three Figures, One Name,” at
Invention, Rewriting, Usurpation: Discursive Fights over Religious Traditions in Antiquity, Aarhus
University, 2010; “Achieving Purity: Baptismal Rituals in the Second Book of Jeu,” at the SBL
Annual Meeting, Atlanta, 2010.
2
See, for example, F. Wisse, “Stalking those Elusive Sethians,” in The Rediscovery of Gnosticism:
Proceedings of the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, March
28-31, 1978, Vol. 2, B. Layton, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), 563-576; A.B. Scott, “Churches or
Books? Sethian Social Organization,” in Journal of Early Christian Studies 3 (1995), 109-122.
29
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
2.1 THE JEUIAN TEXTS
The two codices from which these texts derive, the Bruce and Askew codices, both
contain fragments apparently unrelated to the Jeuian system. Here the texts that
belong to the Jeuian system will be introduced in the most likely order of their
original composition, with a brief summary of their nature and contents. The texts
and fragments that do not belong in this group will also be discussed, in order to
explain why they do not fit in the Jeuian system. The possible implications of the
texts having been bound together will also be considered.
These texts in all likelihood do not form a corpus in the sense of the New
Testament, a set of texts held by a group as being definitively and exclusively sacred.
The texts themselves show signs of being compiled from multiple sources dealing
with similar topics—multiple versions of lists of mysteries, or of certain episodes.
This suggests that many texts were written within the group on these themes. What
remains today are only two manuscripts of what was possibly once a great number,
and there is no way of knowing if any one version of a given story or text was
embraced as authoritative. The inclusion of unrelated texts and fragments in the
Bruce Codex in particular suggests that it may have been a miscellany in the vein of
some of the Nag Hammadi codices rather than a sacred book to a particular group.
However, the common threads running through the particular texts outlined below
show an underlying current of ritual, cosmological and theological connection
between themselves that is not shared with other known texts or groups from a
similar period, such as the Valentinians or Sethians. These threads—such as the
prominence of Jeu, certain notions about the divine realms and their structure, and
the lists of specific mysteries including the five trees, the seven voices, the twin
saviors, etc—are found only in the texts of the Bruce and Askew codices highlighted
below. This, along with some more specific shared language and elements between
certain fragments in the Bruce Codex, suggest that these texts are the result of a
common thought tradition at the very least.
There has been some scholarly disagreement about the number and order of
the texts in both codices; however, because the Schmidt/MacDermot editions are the
best known of the scholarly editions, their text numbering system will be used here.
30
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
Where this discussion proposes a different division of the texts, it will be noted and
justified below.
2.1.1
The First Book of Jeu
This is likely to be the earliest composed text of the extant tractates. As noted in Ch.
1, the title “The Books of Jeu” is not found in the either of the two texts grouped
under this nomenclature in modern scholarship. The appellation derives from two
references to two Books of Jeu found in the Pistis Sophia, and C. Schmidt’s
identification of these texts with them.3 G.R.S. Mead feels the Bruce Codex tractates
are not identical with those referenced in the Pistis Sophia, but are rather based on
another document reworking those texts. He furthermore believes that what Schmidt
terms the First Book belongs after his Second, based on the latter giving introductory
rituals and discussing the lower aeons, while the former deals with higher realms.4
E. de Faye holds the chronological priority of 1 Jeu over 2 Jeu, but bases this on the
perceived superior morality seen in the twice-repeated opening or introduction of the
former as placed by Schmidt.5 However, this “introduction” is not a part of this
tractate, for reasons that shall be discussed below. F. Legge believes the Bruce
Codex texts are chronologically later than the Pistis Sophia,6 but this view is not
maintained by other scholars.
The book’s beginning is lost, and it currently starts with the description of the
Father’s emanation of the true God, Jeu. The whole of this text focuses on the
intricacies of the Treasuries of Light, which are the divine realms populated by
emanations of Jeu through the command of the Father. The first part discusses the
origins and population of these realms, with each of the 28 surviving descriptions of
treasuries (out of 60 originally) being outlined with a map and a list of its head,
3
See Section 1.4.2.2; C. Schmidt, “Die in dem koptisch-gnostischen Codex Brucianus enthaltenen
‘Beiden Bucher Jeu’, ” 573-574, in Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Theologie 37 (1894), 555-585;
H.-M. Schenke, “Vorwort,” xxxii, in C. Schmidt, Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, Vol. 1: Die Pistis
Sophia. Die beiden Bücher des Jeû. Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk 4., um das Vorwort erweiterte
Auflage herausgegeben von Hans-Martin Schenke (1905; revised 4th edition Berlin: Akademie-Verlag,
1981), xvi-xxxiv.
4
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (1905; reprint: New York: University Books, 1960),
520; 569-570.
5
E. de Faye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme: Étude Critique des Documents du Gnosticisme Chrétien aux
IIe et IIIe Siècles (Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1925), 314.
6
F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity Being Studies in Religious History from 330 B.C.
to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915), 194.
31
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
twelve additional emanations of the level, and six watchers or gate guardians, three
for the way in and three for the way out. After a lengthy lacuna, the text picks up
near the end of a second section dealing with instructions for passage through each of
the treasuries, with only the 54th through 60th treasuries remaining.
These
instructions do not concern themselves with the structure and contents of these
realms, since that was covered in the preceding section; rather, each one is identified
solely by its head, and the rest of the information given deals with the seals, ciphers,
and mystery names needed for the ascender to pass safely through it.
This is
followed by a discussion of how and why all of these places came to be, by virtue of
the Father. There is also a rather out of place interpolation regarding a single name
and seal to allow access to all of the regions. The book concludes with a hymn
featuring call and response between Jesus and the disciples, praising the
unapproachable God, Jesus’ Father, for all of his acts within himself and his role in
creation, as presented in the preceding text.
The book thus acts as part of a handbook of ascension, explaining how the
divine world was created, presenting a map of each of its realms, and finally giving
instructions for how to navigate these realms safely. This text is the only one to give
the number of treasuries as sixty, a highly unusual number for divine realms or
heavens in the ancient world. Later texts present the Treasury as a singular, or
sometimes dual, entity—although sub-ranks within the Treasury exist. However,
there are certain shared characteristics that confirm the text conventionally called the
First Book of Jeu belongs to the Jeuian text group, and is an early composition. In
addition to the format of the ascension instructions, which is remarkably similar to
that given for the aeons in 2 Jeu, the prominence of Jeu in establishing the treasuries
immediately sets it in connection with the rest of the texts. Furthermore, the ranks of
the “five trees,” which appear in all of the later texts’ lists of divine ranks and
mysteries, make an appearance here as part of the cosmic establishment (1 Jeu 96).
2.1.2
The Second Book of Jeu
This text shifts the focus from the heights of the Treasury to the intermediate levels
which must be traversed first, the twelve (or fourteen) aeons. Additionally, here are
found four of the most detailed ritual descriptions from any early non-mainstream
32
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
esoteric Christian text, complete with depictions of the seals to be drawn on the
recipients’ foreheads and long lists of ingredients for each incense offering. The text
is clearly a compilation from several sources, as no less than four different
permutations of the list of ranks or mysteries are found at various points throughout.
The group of disciples has been expanded to include the women disciples as well as
the twelve, and the women remain important throughout the remainder of the texts.
The format of the instructions for aeonic ascent is essentially similar to that found in
the treasury ascent found in 1 Jeu.
The text evidently serves as a basic guide to the initiation rituals—the
baptisms of water, fire, Holy Spirit, and a mystery to remove the evil of the
archons—as well as providing a guide to the material, aeonic realms to be traversed
prior to reaching the ranks of the Treasury. Once the baptismal rites are performed
and their associated seals are received, attention turns to the information needed for
aeonic ascension. The conception of the aeons is early, and sees much development
in the later texts. Here there is an unusual subdivision of the twelve aeons, with the
sixth being termed the “little Midst (
);” furthermore, a fourteenth aeon is
apparently an extension of the thirteenth, a division not found elsewhere.
The
inclusion of multiple versions of the lists of ranks or mysteries suggests that a great
deal of speculation was occurring regarding the hierarchy of mysteries, here
collected and presented in close succession. Whereas the beginning of 1 Jeu is
missing, here it is the ending that is lacking, and what lies beyond the triple-powered
gods who are outside the Treasury of Light remains uncertain. The mystery that
Jesus emphasizes over all others many times, the mystery of the forgiveness of sins,
remains a mystery.
2.1.3
4 Pistis Sophia (a)
The division of the Pistis Sophia texts is an unsettled issue. Titles in the manuscript
divide it into at least four books, and H.C. Puech observes that “it is today almost
unanimously agreed that the four sections of the manuscript must be divided into two
distinct groups.” 7 That it consists of four sections or texts is thus not widely
7
H.C. Puech, “The Pistis Sophia,” 362; in New Testament Apocrypha, Volume 1, W. Schneemelcher,
ed., R. McL. Wilson, trans. (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. Ltd., 1991), 361-369.
33
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
questioned in scholarship; the two groups acknowledged are 1-3PS and 4PS in
Schmidt. G.R.S. Mead, however, has posited as many as six books, although he
embraces the fourfold division and views parts of 3 and 4PS as subdivisions of their
larger wholes. 8 F. Legge does acknowledge the divisions used here, although he
regards them as being composed in reverse chronological order to the widely
accepted view.
9
For the present argument, at least five texts are clearly
distinguishable. Schmidt’s fourth book has a lacuna of eight pages, and the contents,
themes, and even assumed cosmologies differ dramatically before and after the gap,
suggesting they are parts of separate works. Here they shall be termed 4PSa and
4PSb.
4PSa, which consists of chapters 136-143, deals primarily with cosmological
and astrological speculation and ritual development. It opens with Jesus performing
before an altar a ritual prayer that apparently allows him and the disciples to witness
some of the lower cosmological regions, the roles of which Jesus explains. The bulk
of the book presents a myth of the fallen archons of the aeons being imprisoned by
Jeu within the zodiacal sphere; outlines the realms of the wicked Midst (
) with
descriptions of its rulers, along with the sins and punishments each ruler inflicts on
humanity; and describes the positions of the planets when the sinners tormented by
each ruler of the Midst (
) will be released. The remainder of the text has Jesus
interpret the elements of his incarnation and their role in the world, and administer
the first baptism—the baptism of the first offering—which is quite similar to those
described in 2 Jeu. It is much simpler than the latter, but their common root is clear;
indeed, the baptisms of fire, Holy Spirit, and the spiritual inunction from 2 Jeu are
named, but not presented (4PSa 372). It is possible they were recorded where the
lacuna now exists; alternatively, at this point perhaps it was felt that only the lowest
rite could be recorded, and the others required preparation through direct instruction.
The text thus appears to serve as a guide to the punishment realms, here limited to
the way of the Midst (
8
), a treatise on speculative astrology in a Jeuian
G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia: The Gnostic Tradition of Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and His Disciples
(1921; reprint: Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2005), xxiii-xxv.
9
F. Legge, “Introduction,” Pistis Sophia, G. Horner, ed. and trans. (London: Society for Promoting
Christian Knowledge, 1924), vii-xlviii.
34
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
theological context, and an initiatory ritual guide—this time with simplified ritual
instructions and presenting only the lowest of the baptisms.
2.1.4
4 Pistis Sophia (b)10
After the lacuna, the text focuses solely on the punishments of sinners and the
destiny of various types of souls. The cosmology here is different from 4PSa: the
underworld has been expanded, with several different regions of punishment rather
than just one with several divisions. There are different timeframes for punishment—
with some of the sins (for example, murder) covered in both 4PSa and b, presenting
different results based on the differing systems. The disciples ask what punishments
await certain sinners, and Jesus explains the order in which those souls shall be
subjected to torment. The types of sins worthy of punishment provide a glimpse of
the group’s ethical code: cursing, slander, murder, robbery and thievery, and pride
and scorn are all worthy of punishment for specific periods. After this, the soul is
reincarnated in a body worthy of the sins it had committed. Other sins such as
blasphemy, pederasty, and participation in certain other cults’ wicked rites all result
in punishment followed by the dissolution of the soul in the outer darkness. In
addition to this ethical code, a degree of astrological determination is also posited in
transmigration: when the planets are in certain positions relative to the Virgin of
Light (apparently representing the sun), all souls sent into the world will be either
righteous or wicked. This shows an acceptance of the inevitability of fate that fades,
and is in fact overturned, in the later texts. The text serves to highlight improper
behavior and its punishments; to present a schema of underworld or punishment
realms and their rulers; and to develop the concept of transmigration in relation to
both sin and astrology.
10
Although most scholars have not distinguished this text from the preceding 4PSa, G.R.S. Mead
(Pistis Sophia, xxii, 315) recognizes the subject change and suggests it may be another “book,”
although he maintains its inclusion within the “fourth division” of the manuscript and does not
observe its close ties with 3PS. F. Legge also places a division here and goes further in recognizing
the similarities it shares with 3PS (“Introduction,” xxviii). C. Schmidt gives a refutation of Legge’s
division, but his arguments are unconvincing (Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk des dritten
Jahrhunderts aus dem Koptischen übersetzt [1925; reprint: Graz: Edition Geheimes Wissen, 2010],
69n.4).
35
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
2.1.5
3 Pistis Sophia
As noted above, 1-3PS are often viewed as a group; however, 3PS is not always
considered a direct continuation of the first two.11 Perhaps one of the most overt
signs that 3PS is not continuous with 1/2PS is the difference between the two in their
tone regarding the “Books of Jeu.” 3PS specifies that the mysteries in these books
are necessary for all—even for “the righteous themselves who have never done evil,
and have not committed sins at all” (3PS 349). 2PS, however, is more cautious;
while admitting they contain the exceedingly numerous portions of light, it states that
“you [the disciples] have no need for the remainder of the inferior mysteries, but you
will find them in the two Books of Jeu” (2PS 247). Although 2PS still views the
Books of Jeu as containing necessary information, 3PS gives no hint of any part of
them being “inferior” or unnecessary.12 Furthermore the two texts contain slightly
different versions of the books’ history, with 3PS going into greater depth about their
placement and history. Moreover, 3PS shares close ties with 4PSb that are not found
in 1/2PS in terms of its cosmology, its concern with sins and their punishments, and
the format of questions-and-answers between the disciples and Jesus used to present
this information. 3PS deals extensively with the dissemination of the mysteries,
repentance, and when it is or is not suitable to grant the mysteries to others.
Furthermore, it discusses the formation of the human being, the components of
which it consists, and how they are connected both in the body and after death.
After the introduction, which consists of a list of sins to be renounced
followed by a list of virtues to strive for, the questions and answers begin. They
primarily relate to transgressions by those who have received some of the mysteries,
11
G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia, xxiv; F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity, 183; F. Legge,
“Introduction,” xiv, xxii; J. Doresse, Les livres secrets des gnostiques d’Égypt: Introduction aux écrits
gnostiques coptes découvert à Khénoboskion (Paris: Librarie Plon, 1958), 80-81. Legge recognizes
the closeness of 3PS to 4PSb in particular; Mead simply observes that the change of subject between 2
and 3PS may indicate that it does not directly follow. One of the reasons for assuming a direct
connection is the shared title of 2/3PS (“Extracts from the Books of the Savior”); however this is not a
definite sign they were parts of the same work. The great differences in cosmology, views of the
disciples’ souls, and the disparity of opinions on the usefulness of the Books of Jeu all speak to 3PS
being separate from the preceding texts.
12
C. Schmidt, believing the mysteries of the Books of Jeu refer to the baptisms, presents a proposal as
to reconciling these passages (Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 62-63). In his view the
baptisms are purification rites necessary for all and are outside of the ranks of “higher” or “lower”
mysteries that merely dictate the level to which a soul goes after death. His proposal is not entirely in
keeping with the description in the text, however.
36
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
and cases in which forgiveness is possible.
The number and names of the
punishment realms match those in 4PSb, which are not found elsewhere.13 This text
gives greater allowance than any of the others for redemption, for even those who are
banished to the outer darkness have a hope of freedom if they have the proper
knowledge, or if a believer performs mysteries on their behalf. This forgiveness is
further illustrated by an episode in which Jesus tests Peter’s mercifulness,
commanding him to cut off a woman from the inheritance of the light because she
had not acted worthily after receiving three baptisms.
Peter pleads her case,
suggesting that they give her the higher mysteries first, in case she should then
repent, thus passing the test (3PS 310). Clearly the author felt it important to offer as
many chances as possible for redemption. The complex relationships between the
various parts of the human being also receive a great deal of attention, with no less
than five elements from both the archons and the heights combined in a less than
harmonious manner. The mysteries are necessary to be freed of the influence of the
wicked “counterfeit spirit”14 of the archons. Again we find the notion that the Virgin
of Light casts souls back into the world in bodies worthy of the sins they have
committed if they do not receive the mysteries in life (3PS 285-286); but for those
that have received the proper mysteries, she gives them her seal and sends them on
their way until they reach the place of the inheritance within or beyond the Treasury
of Light. The somewhat more arbitrary allocation of souls in the world based on
planetary positions is missing, however, in part due to the new wholly negative view
of fate as opposed to considering it an all-pervasive force with both positive and
negative potential.
The text thus deals with complicated issues of worthiness for the mysteries
and protocol for their dispensation in what was becoming an increasingly
proselytizing religion. The plight of humanity is explained somewhat in the outline
of the components of the individual with their antagonistic relations to each other—
interestingly, this deals with the average person, and does not seek to explain the
origin of humanity or interpret the Genesis story. This is despite the fact that the
13
See Table 3.4.
The phrase “
! ! ! ! ” has been translated in a variety of ways; although V. MacDermot
gives “spirit counterpart,” this thesis will use the translation “counterfeit spirit.” For more on this
element, see Section 6.5.5.
14
37
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
Gospels are referred to with increasing frequency; Old Testament references remain
noticeably absent from the texts. The necessity of the Books of Jeu for all people is
specifically highlighted (3PS 349). The mode of salvation remains the mysteries,
despite the fact that they are not listed or outlined as in some of the earlier texts. The
functions of the text are different to those of an initiation or ascension handbook, so
the associated knowledge is assumed rather than presented.
The necessity of
presenting the proper seals and defenses during the ascent from the body remains
(3PS 289-293).
2.1.6
1 & 2 Pistis Sophia
These are the only two books out of the manuscript, and indeed out of the extant
Jeuian texts as a whole, that are close enough to each other in content and structure to
suppose an immediate connection and contemporary composition.
15
Their
connection is essentially unanimously recognized in scholarship. These texts focus
primarily on the myth of Pistis Sophia’s fall from the thirteenth aeon and the
interpretation of her repentances in light of particular Psalms and Odes of Solomon.
The version of wisdom’s fall presented here is dramatically different from those
found in other non-mainstream esoteric Christian texts, although it has clearly been
influenced by at least one outside version, likely Valentinian.16 The outside notions
adopted here are reinterpreted in accordance with the belief system of the author’s
group. Thus Pistis Sophia originally derives from the material aeons rather than the
spiritual realm, the notion of her sin is awkwardly inserted, and Jesus’ ascent is
artificially made necessary for her redemption. The extensive use of the Psalms to
“interpret” her lengthy prayers of repentance and praise suggest that the group was
now seeking more direct Biblical scriptural justification, a trend that gradually creeps
15
There is some debate regarding the end of 2PS. Ch. 101 (253-255 in Schmidt; 233-234 in the MS)
is separated from the preceding text by a title, “A Part of the Books of the Savior.” It has been
thought to be the ending of a lost work (G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia, xxiii, 210); F. Legge is reluctant
to say it is completely separate from the preceding documents and thus calls it simply an “interpolated
fragment” (introduction to Pistis Sophia, xv), and H.C. Puech calls it an “independent fragment”
(“The Pistis Sophia,” 362). C. Schmidt, however, ultimately feels that the title was simply misplaced,
and belongs at the end of Ch. 101 (234 in the MS), thus accepting the section as part of 2PS (Pistis
Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 31, 252 n.1). For the present work, this latter interpretation is
accepted.
16
See Section 6.6.
38
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
into the texts and only here fully blossoms.17 Here also the disciples besides John
and Mary Magdalene, who dominated the disciples’ part of the conversation with the
Savior in 3PS,18 come forward to offer enlightened interpretations, making a bid for
the group’s apostolic authority from a wider pool.
Besides the Pistis Sophia myth, the other main concern of these texts is
further expansion and speculation on the hierarchy of mysteries and the divine
realms. The beginning of 1PS gives a list of information Jesus had not given to the
disciples yet after 11 years teaching them post-resurrection. These include the list of
mysteries or ranks found also in 2 Jeu (and directly or indirectly in the other Jeuian
texts), and as previously, although they are here referenced they are not explained.
This may suggest that these mysteries were higher and not written down, requiring
oral instruction or direct experience. At this point certain earlier mysteries found in
the “Books of Jeu” have been downgraded and are considered unnecessary (2PS 247)
in the face of the mystery of the Ineffable. That mystery purports to know why all
things are in existence, and further claims to be simple: “[E]veryone who will
renounce the whole world and everything in it and will submit themselves to
Godhood, that mystery is easier for them than all the mysteries of the Kingdom of
the Light, and it is more successfully understood than them all, and it is lighter than
them all” (2PS 219).
From an Egyptian origin that did not consider the world innately negative and
that favored complex instructions for the postmortem journey, the cultural and
religious environment of the group appears to have changed, leaning toward a
rejection of the material world embraced by certain non-mainstream esoteric
Christian sects. However, the “great mysteries” of the three portions of the kingdom
are the “heads of the mysteries” which Jesus promises to give “in all their patterns
17
On the interpretive method used for these Psalms, see J. Carmignac, “Le genre littéraire du ‘péshèr’
dans la Pistis-Sophia,” in Revue de Qumran 16 (1963-64), 497-522; on the use of the Psalms and Odes
of Solomon, see W.H. Worrell, “The Odes of Solomon and the Pistis Sophia,” in Journal for
Theological Studies 13 (1911), 29-46; H. Ludin Jansen, “Gnostic Interpretation in Pistis Sophia,” in
Proceedings of the IXth International Congress for the History of Religions, Tokyo and Kyoto 1958
(Tokyo: Maruzen, 1960), 106-111; A. Kragerud, Die Hymnen der Pistis Sophia (Oslo:
Universitetsforlagets Trykningssentral, 1967); G. Widengren, “Die Hymnen der Pistis Sophia und die
gnostische Schriftauslegung,” in Liber Amicorum: Studies in honour of C.J. Bleeker, (Leiden: E.J.
Brill, 1969), 269-281; C. Trautmann, “La citation du Psaume 85 (84, 11-12) et ses commentaires dans
la Pistis Sophia,” in Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses 59 (1979), 551-557.
18
It should be noted that 4PSb also names several other disciples asking questions.
39
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
and all their types and their ciphers and the seals of the last space, which is the first
space from without” (2PS 247). This certainly seems to be a reflection of the
mysteries found in 1 Jeu, where the heads of the treasuries are given names and their
types, seals and ciphers are carefully outlined. Perhaps despite the new suggestion of
rejecting materiality and the introduction of the mystery of the Ineffable, the
accompanying abandonment of earlier mysteries is not as complete as might first be
imagined.
This is further highlighted by the ambiguous role of Jesus in Pistis
Sophia’s salvation, which as noted above appears to be a secondary addition. The
group was apparently attempting to fit in to a cultural environment that was
increasingly turning to Jesus as a salvific figure and against worldly concerns. The
rituals that held sway in the past are not entirely lost or forgotten, but are deemphasized, at least for certain ranks of initiates.
2.1.7
Fragments
Both codices contain a number of fragments of different texts, but only two of these
appear to be related to the Jeuian system. Both of these are found in the Bruce
Codex. The fact that the codex at the time of purchase was a disordered collection of
loose leaves means that their original placement is uncertain;19 Schmidt places one of
them in the lacuna between the two parts of 1 Jeu, and the other after the missing end
of 2 Jeu. These fragments both share significant terminological and cosmological
connections with the Pistis Sophia texts; more so than with any of the other texts
found in the Bruce Codex.
The first fragment (1 Jeu 79-82) consists of four pages of a hymn sung to the
First Mystery—the highest principle, in conjunction with the Ineffable, in 1/2PS.
The role of the First Mystery in controlling Jeu in the establishment of the aeons is
celebrated. The structure of the aeons is also equivalent to that found in 1/2PS,
rather than that in 2 Jeu: no special status is accorded to the sixth aeon, the invisible
one and three (triple-powered) gods are found in the thirteenth aeon, and Jabraoth,
the believing archon, is established in the space above the thirteenth.
It also
attributes to each aeon “archons and decans and ministers,” a combination of entities
19
V. MacDermot, “Introduction,” x, in The Books of Jeu and the Untitled Text in the Bruce Codex, C.
Schmidt, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1978), ix-xxi.
40
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
also found scattered through the Pistis Sophia (1PS 2, 14, 77; 2PS 215; 3PS 343;
4PSa 355).
The hymn is in the first person, and is apparently written in the
perspective of Jesus/the Savior: he calls for the salvation of all his members that have
been scattered in each of the aeonic regions. This fragment is thus likely of a later
date of original composition than 1 and 2 Jeu.20 The second fragment (2 Jeu 140141) is just one page, and gives a shorter depiction of the great archons of the Midst
(
) as they are given in 4PSa. The fact that the names are identical to those in
4PSa, and that they are unique to these texts, suggests a shared connection between
the two, be it one using the other or another shared source document.
That these two fragments are so closely tied to concepts found only in the
Pistis Sophia bolsters the idea that texts from the two codices derive from a common
group or community of thinkers.
2.1.8
The Untitled Text, Book of the Gnoses of the Invisible God, and Other
Fragments—Jeuian or Not?
The Untitled Text of the Bruce Codex is not considered by scholars to be connected
with the Books of Jeu.21 In addition to being written by a different hand, it shares
little in common with the latter in terms of its language, theology or cosmic structure.
Rather, since the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library and its further insight into
the Sethians, it is generally accepted as a part of the wider Sethian tradition.22 This is
largely due to the presence of a number of important Sethian names and themes, such
as the Five Seals, a complex aeonic hierarchy, and the names of three of the “four
20
C. Schmidt, Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 68.
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache aus dem Codex Brucianus (Leipzig: J.C.
Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1892), 34-35; G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 577-578;
E. de Faye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme, 319-320; J. Doresse, Les livres secrets, 87.
22
B.A. Pearson, Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007),
94-95; H.-M. Schenke, “The Phenomenon and Significance of Sethian Gnosticism,” in The
Rediscovery of Gnosticism: Proceedings of the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale, New
Haven, Connecticut, March 28-31, 1978, Vol. 2, B. Layton, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1980), 588-616;
J.D. Turner, “Gnosticism and Platonism: The Platonizing Sethian Texts from Nag Hammadi in their
Relation to Later Platonic Literature,” 425, in Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, R.T. Wallis, ed.
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), 425-459; J.D. Turner, Sethian Gnosticism and
the Platonic Tradition (Québec: University of Laval Press, 2001), 61. Even prior to the Nag
Hammadi discovery, C. Schmidt also suggested possible Sethian ties for this tractate (Gnostische
Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 645-648; Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 76). Note,
however, that D. Brakke excludes this work from his set of “Gnostic” evidence (The Gnostics: Myth,
Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010], 50).
21
41
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
lights” Eleleth, Daveide, and Oroiael. The focus of the text is a detailed and complex
description of the divine realms and the beings therein. The contents and structure of
these realms, however, is completely different from that found in either of the Books
of Jeu. In contrast with the clearly organized structure of the latter, the Untitled Text
meanders from topic to topic, suddenly discussing new levels of beings within beings
with little prelude, sometimes backtracking without explanation.
There are
numbered deeps and unnumbered deeps, fatherhoods and sonships as categories of
being, crowns within crowns, hidden fathers, forefathers and self-fathers. Although
overall it represents a broad and complex enumeration of the elements of the divine
realm and their relationships within that heavenly hierarchy, the effect is confusing
and chaotic in comparison with the clearly unfolded map of the treasuries of light
and aeons presented in the Books of Jeu. It lacks any of the terminology or names
that tie the rest of the texts together.
The two fragmentary copies of the introduction of the Book of the Gnoses of
the Invisible God, on the other hand, have long been considered to be the
introduction of the Books of Jeu. Schmidt first positions them as such, and those few
scholars who discuss these texts do not question this attribution.23 However, their
terminology is different from that of the Books of Jeu, or indeed that of the Pistis
Sophia or the Untitled Text. Nowhere else in the texts is Jesus referred to as “the
living Jesus,” a title which appears repeatedly here; in these pages Jesus’ followers
are the apostles (
), but elsewhere always disciples (
); and
from what can be gleaned from the fragments remaining, the concepts of sin and
salvation also differ significantly from the Jeuian texts. The fact that two copies of
this section remain in the codex, both of which break off in lacunae, already
demonstrates that, at the very least, the latter half of one of the books to which the
section belongs has been lost.
23
It seems more plausible that they are both the
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 39-47; Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, Vol.
1: Die Pistis Sophia. Die beiden Bücher des Jeû. Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk (Leipzig, 1905)
257-260; E. DeFaye, Gnostiques et Gnosticisme, 314; J. Doresse, Les livres secrets, 84; B.A. Pearson,
Ancient Gnosticism, 254; H.C. Puech, “The two Books of Jeu,” in W. Schneemelcher, ed., R. McL.
Wilson, trans., New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1, 370-371; G.R.S. Mead (Fragments of a Faith
Forgotten, 518) also accepts this portion as the introduction to the Books of Jeu, but he places them
before Schmidt’s 2 Jeu, as he believes that text comes first.
42
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
remnants of some separate text than to think that an entire copy of the body of the
Books of Jeu is missing, especially given the disparity in their language and themes.24
The remaining fragments of both the Bruce Codex and the Askew Codex also
show clear differences from the surrounding text in terms of their limited contents.
The two in the Askew Codex are perhaps more curious, given the relative
completeness of the manuscript. The first interpolation appears between 1 and 2PS
in the second column of the last page of the former text, interrupting an otherwise
continuous flow of narrative and interpretation;25 it involves certain mystery “names”
and their interpretations, both of which consist of triplets of identical letters. The
only context given—that they are from the “endless one,” and they make manifest
the “sons of God”—do not fit with any part of the manuscript, let alone the
immediately surrounding text. The second addition is on the recto of the final
unpaginated leaf, beginning in what seems to be the middle of a sentence. It, too,
consists of only a short paragraph, and while its theme of spreading the gospel is
found elsewhere in the manuscript, it features terminology not otherwise used
(“Christ” for Jesus or the Savior, “Kingdom of God” for Kingdom of Light, etc.) and
highlights Israel in a way foreign to the rest of the texts. Both of these fragments
appear in a different hand from the rest of the manuscript, and are likely later
additions. The broken beginning of the latter fragment at the beginning of a page,
along with the gap left between it and the end of the text on the previous page,
suggests it was part of a separate tractate. The reason for the inclusion of these
partial writings is a mystery.26
24
In conversation with E. Crégheur at the SBL Annual Meeting, 2010, who at the time of writing this
is working on a new critical edition of the Books of Jeu, he expressed a similar sentiment.
25
MS p.114, column 2; 1PS 126.
26
G.R.S. Mead suggests that they are scribal notes or postscripts; this is possible, but seems unlikely,
given their fragmentary natures and their dramatic differences from the rest of the text (Pistis Sophia,
105, 325). E. Amélineau proposes they are the notes of a reader (Pistis Sophia: Ouvrage gnostique de
Valentin [1895; reprint: Milan: Archè, 1975], 65n.2, 204n.1). Along similar lines, P.D. ScottMoncrieff believes the middle fragment is the fancy of a later scribe, although he does not comment
on the later fragment (Paganism and Christianity in Egypt [Cambridge, 1913], 161). F. Legge
proposes that the second fragment was from another work that someone wished to preserve, but this
was the only parchment available (introduction to Pistis Sophia, xxviii). C. Schmidt believes that this
latter fragment was part of a larger text copied onto now-missing blank protective sheets, and that a
later owner found this additional text offensive, removing them and erasing the title of this remaining
fragment (Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 42-43). J. Doresse also suggests the latter is
part of a separate, lost work (Les livres secrets, 88). B.A. Pearson implicitly accepts the latter
43
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
2.1.9
Summary of the Texts
The Jeuian texts remaining today thus consist, in order of likely chronological
content, of 1 and 2 Jeu, followed by 4PSa, 4PSb, 3PS, and finally 1/2PS. Two of the
fragments from the Bruce Codex (the hymn to the First Mystery and the outline of
the rulers of the Midst [
4PSa.
]) appear in close proximity of tradition to 1/2PS and
The reasons for this ordering will be explored in greater depth in the
following chapters. The texts are variously concerned with ascent, liturgy, ritual,
cosmology, mythology, anthropogony, theology, and soteriology, thus showing a full
range of concerns that might occupy a given religious group without any one text
needing to cover all aspects. The disorder and apparent chronological range of the
texts may be attributed to their compilation well after the texts themselves were new,
allowing the compilers to access a variety at once. That non-related texts are also
included (particularly in the Bruce Codex, which features a variety of texts and
fragments) may suggest that the compilers were not members of the group in
question, and that they did not fully understand their contents. The fact that so many
texts exist—and that those remaining today themselves appear to be compilations of
others—with the particular thematic similarities that bind them, despite the gradual
changes of certain ideas, implies that these texts were being produced by a particular
sect or community of believers.
2.2 NON-COMMUNAL LITERARY WORKS, OR SECTARIAN
THEOLOGICAL AND RITUAL HANDBOOKS?
The above assumes that a coherent undercurrent can be found running through these
texts, suggesting that they are the product of a group of believers written over time
and showing the results of cultural development and outside religious influence.
However, as stated in the introduction to this chapter, the question of the nature and
origin of these texts is not firm and fixed. It could be argued that the similarities
between texts are the result of individual authors taking a text and adding their own
innovations.
The differences between the texts might suggest that they have
fragment as the natural conclusion of the text without comment (Ancient Gnosticism, 253).
Frequently these segments are not mentioned at all in discussions of the texts.
44
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
disparate origins. The rituals described might be idealized literary creations not
intended for reproduction. Perhaps even if they are the product of like-minded people
sharing ideas, it does not necessarily follow that they acted on these ideas. These
arguments shall be analyzed below, and evidence that they are in fact representative
of a functioning religious group will be presented.
2.2.1
Do Differences Signify Disparity?
One important argument for the position that these texts are not a part of a larger
system is that there are dramatic differences in certain themes and the roles of certain
figures between the different texts. The cosmological ordering is different between
certain texts; Jesus’ incarnation shifts from solely playing a minor teaching role to
overthrowing parts of cosmic order; here astrology is a force to be reckoned with and
can have positive or negative results, there it is a force of evil that Jesus works to
overthrow. The list of variations is extensive. It is possible that the texts were
combined in their present volumes out of convenience, or because the shared names
suggested a connection to the compiler that did not in actuality go any deeper. The
fact that some of the tractates and fragments preserved in the manuscripts do not
appear to belong to the Jeuian tradition might further suggest that the texts were
simply collected in the present volumes without rhyme or reason.
A close reading of the texts, however, shows that when read in the order
proposed in this thesis, the variations are gradual and traceable between the body of
texts as a whole. They can be explained if the texts are compiled from works written
over a period of time—perhaps a hundred years or more. The multiple lists of
mysteries with slight variations found within 2 Jeu and 1/2PS, and the several
versions of Jesus’ ascent and conflict with the archons of the aeons in 1PS, serve as
evidence that the texts themselves are compiled from a number of earlier documents.
This suggests that a large body of texts written with essentially similar theology was
available to these authors. The inclusion of unrelated fragments may be due to
convenience, the texts being compiled outside of the group or after its prime, or the
ignorance of the compiler in copying what texts were available to hand. These less
closely related documents certainly serve to demonstrate that a variety of religious
45
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
ideas and traditions were present in the region where the texts were composed or
collected, helping to account for some of the syncretism present in the Jeuian system.
2.2.2
Idealized, Literary Ritual and Ascent?
Another possible argument for a literary rather than practical origin and use of the
texts is that detailed descriptions of rituals and ascent are not necessarily a sign that
they were used in practice. Some scholars have argued that certain Jewish and
Christian apocalyptic literature and the Hekhalot literature present idealized rituals of
and ascents to the divine realms not intended for reproduction. 27 They may be
literary creations, not meant as instructions to be emulated by the reader. The reader
may obtain the results achieved by the figure in the text simply by reciting the
passages. 28 M. Himmelfarb especially argues against these Jewish and Christian
texts being viewed as the products of “small pious groups engaged in ascetic
practices related to their visions.”29 She reasons that in these texts the presence or
absence of groups associated with the central mystic is largely dictated by literary
concerns, and little can be discerned regarding the author’s situation.30
With these concerns it must be observed that the Jeuian texts, and particularly
1 and 2 Jeu, which have the greatest focus on ritual and ascent, have little in common
with these Jewish and Christian works beyond the fact that both involve ascent—a
motif that was common in the religious atmosphere of the Greco-Roman period. The
main concerns of the ascent, as well as the characteristics of the descriptions of the
divine realms and their inhabitants, are strikingly different. The Jewish/Christian
texts considered by Himmelfarb and others concern themselves with elaborate
descriptions of the heavenly host and temples, along with the natural phenomena that
serve to testify to the power of their creator.
27
The Books of Jeu give minimal
See, for example, P. Schäfer, “The Aim and Purpose of Early Jewish Mysticism,” 293-294, in
Hekhalot-Studien (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1988), 277-295; D. Halperin, “A New Edition of the
Hekhalot Literature,” 549-551, in Journal of the American Oriental Society 104 (1984), 543-552; M.
Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1993), 95-114.
28
D. Halperin, “A New Edition of the Hekhalot Literature,” 550.
29
M. Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven, 106. The texts she includes considers under the rubric of 2nd
century Jewish and Christian ascent apocalypses include: the Book of the Watchers, the Testament of
Levi, 2 Enoch, the Similitudes of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, the Apocalypse of Abraham,
the Ascension of Isaiah, and 3 Baruch.
30
M. Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven, 105.
46
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
description of the regions through which one must pass, focusing solely on the
information one requires to advance.
Although a description of the original
emanations from the Father and Jeu is present, it is given in highly abstract terms.
No frightful or glorious visions are presented to the travelers or the reader. The
entities met along the way have only names.
Descriptions of sensory images,
emotions, and personal experiences are all lacking.
The theme of individual
transformation into an angelic form during the ascent, prominent in the apocalypses
such as the Ascension of Isaiah (7:25, 9:30) or 1 Enoch (39:14), is absent. While
angelic hymns are a major focus of Jewish-Christian ascent stories, representing
heavenly ideals to be emulated, the hymn found in 1 Jeu is presented as a call and
response between Jesus and the disciples: no being from the treasuries or aeons ever
speaks. The Books of Jeu present the reader with a straightforward handbook of
ritual, ascent, and liturgy.
Furthermore, while the Jewish-Christian texts are portrayed as the retelling of
past events in the lives of particular individuals, generally as having a particular
purpose or result—seeing the divine throne, speaking with the Prince of the
Presence, gaining control over certain angels to accomplish things on earth—the
Books of Jeu present the ascent as a future event, a post-mortem rise through the
heavenly realms. Although the tour of the treasuries in 1 Jeu does feature Jesus
taking the disciples to each level, he presents the information of how to pass through
them as instructions: rather than Jesus simply reciting the appropriate names and
showing the seal, in each instance he says to his companions, “Hear now the placing
of this treasury.
When you come to this place (
), seal yourselves with this seal…This is its name…Say it only once
while this cipher […] is in your hand, and say this name three times…” (emphasis
mine). If it were meant purely as a literary tale of ascent, the seal and names would
simply have been given, without the instructional frame. The ascent in 2 Jeu is even
more distanced from the event: it does not portray Jesus or the disciples making the
journey, but rather is described as an event to come: “When you come forth from the
body (
-
) and you reach the first aeon, and the
archons of that aeon come before you, seal yourselves with this seal…” (2 Jeu 127)
47
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
Whether it is meant purely as a post-mortem ascent or it can also be experienced as
an ecstatic journey while living is unclear. What is clear, however, is that it is meant
to be experienced by the initiated reader at some point. Furthermore, if these books
were intended purely to be read or recited, the inclusion of drawn seals would be
highly mysterious.
2.2.3
Pseudepigraphy to Confer Authority: Necessity of Dissemination
While the attribution of these words to Jesus and his accompaniment by the disciples
is doubtless pseudepigraphal, in an attempt to give the texts greater authority, it
cannot be assumed that they are the pure literary devices of individual authors and no
group is to be associated with the use of the texts. Attributing certain words or
actions to a respected historical figure was common in antiquity in community texts
as well as in more individual writings.
For example, see the disputed Pauline
epistles, whose authorship remains the subject of debate to this day, or the many
known Jewish and Christian pseudepigrapha.31 The Manichaeans were also known
to have attributed writings to certain antediluvian patriarchs.32 The authority of the
figures to which these writings are attributed is needed to highlight the importance of
their contents, and in some cases to encourage readers to act on them.
It must not be overlooked that in both the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia
Jesus specifically instructs the disciples that they must perform certain mysteries to
enter the Treasury of Light, and extends this to anyone who would enter them. He
tells them not to give the mysteries to anyone “except he [who] is worthy of them” (2
Jeu 100) or “except him who will do everything which I have said to you in my
injunctions” (4PSa 372)—thus they are to give them to those who prove themselves
worthy and faithful. The disciples are given a list of sins which one to whom the
disciples will give the mysteries must not commit (2 Jeu 102), again suggesting that
they are to be repeated for others. The instructions that these mysteries, including
the baptisms, are to be performed for others is even more explicit elsewhere in 4PSa:
“I will give to you the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven so that you yourselves
31
See, for example, J.H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vols. I & II
(London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1983).
32
J.C. Reeves, Heralds of That Good Realm: Syro-Mesopotamian Gnosis and Jewish Traditions
(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996).
48
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
perform them (the mysteries) for men” (4PSa 369); after Jesus baptizes the disciples:
“This is the manner and this is the mystery which you shall perform for men who
will believe in you…” (4PSa 372); and also in 3PS: “As I have now said to you: give
to them [those who have renounced the All] the mysteries of the Kingdom of the
Light, and do not conceal them from them at all” (3PS 261); “to all men who come
before you and believe in you and hear your words and do what is worthy of the
mysteries of the light, give to them the mysteries of the light and do not conceal them
from them” (3PS 280). The rituals are all performed in a human group context, preascent, as opposed to an individual human receiving investiture at the hands of
angels or divine beings (as in Testament of Levi 8; 2 Enoch 22; 3 Enoch 12). This
speaks of purification or initiation rituals to be physically performed on earth, to be
made worthy for the later mysteries and ascent.
2.2.4
Precedents of Ritual Practice
The most detailed rituals appear in 2 Jeu, in the form of three baptisms and one
mystery to remove the evil of the archons.33 Each includes a list of ingredients for
the offering, as well as plants to be worn as a crown, held in the hands, and placed in
the mouth.
All of the ingredients listed, save two, are known and recognized
elements in a Greco-Egyptian ritual context. That two out of over twenty elements
are presently unidentified is not problematic in proposing an actual ritual
performance rather than an idealized literary description of one. Many of them
would have been expensive, but expense to be initiated into a religious group was not
unexpected—the mystery religions of the period also had a hefty expense associated
with their initiations. For example, Apuleius in Metamorphoses makes note of the
difficulty the main character has in coming up with the resources to undergo the
second initiation in the Isis mysteries, while for the third he had become successful
enough that it was not an issue (Meta 11.28-30); also the archaeological evidence
remaining from the Mithraic mysteries shows that a great deal of money would have
33
It should be noted that although these rituals are called “baptisms” (
), they do not
involve any sort of immersion in water (or any water at all, with the exception of the sign in the wine
of the first ritual). It is apparent that the author knew the names of the set of these three rituals from
Matthew 3:11, and recognized the word “baptism” as a technical term for a rite of purification or
initiation, but the description of the rituals themselves have little in common with baptisms from other
contemporary Christian groups. See also Section 6.7.
49
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
been required not only in setting up the mithraeums, but also in providing the
materials for the ritual meals and sacrifices.34 This monetary provision was likely a
part of the demonstration of worthiness discussed above. Although there is the
command that one who receives the mysteries must not love gold or silver (2 Jeu
102), it is not specified that they must give up all of their worldly possessions as a
prerequisite for receiving them. These rites are a requirement to receive any further
mystical knowledge, which occupies the main focus of the group. It might also be
noted that the description in 4PSa does not include the list of expensive ingredients;
it is possible that as the group became more concerned with gaining converts, the
rituals became cheaper and simpler to facilitate a wider base of initiates.
Furthermore, the concept of a series of rituals for initiation was also wellknown from the mystery religions. As noted above, the mysteries of Isis apparently
could involve at least three stages. The Mithraic mysteries had seven ranks.35 The
Eleusinian mysteries had Greater and Lesser mysteries. 36 Clement of Alexandria
says of the Greek mysteries in general that after purifications come “the lesser
mysteries which have the function of teaching, and preparation for what is to come;
and then the greater mysteries which concern everything, where there is no longer
learning, but contemplation and consideration of nature and of realities” (Stromata
5.70.7-71.1).37 This may be parallel to the idea of greater and lesser mysteries found
in 2PS. While the initial stages of some of these rites in the mystery religions are
open for description, involving fasting, purification or bathing, etc, the final stage is
always left out. It is kept secret, meant to be experienced by the initiates. The series
of baptisms described in 2 Jeu may be meant to portray stages of initiation as well,
with the final sign at the end of each rite left out deliberately.
34
H. Bowden, Mystery Cults in the Ancient World (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2010), 196.
See for example R. Beck, Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works with New Essays (Ashgate
Publishing, Ltd., 2004), 15; G. Lease, “Mithraism and Christianity: Borrowings and Transformations,”
1325, in Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt Vol. 2.23.2, W. Haase, ed. (Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter, 1980), 1306-1332.
36
H. Bowden, Mystery Cults, 32.
37
A. Roberts, J. Donaldson and A.C. Coxe, trans., The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2 (Buffalo: The
Christian Literature Company, 1885).
35
50
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
2.2.5
An Earthly Ritual Context
Although a specific location for their performance is not given, the first baptismal
ritual requires the disciples to go to Galilee to obtain one component of the ritual
offering (2 Jeu 105). The baptismal description is shorter and less detailed in 4PSa,
but there it states that Jesus and the disciples remained on the mountain of Galilee for
the ritual (4PSa 369). This is taking place in a specific, earthly environment, not an
imagined divine court or otherworldly realm. It is true that the provenance of these
texts is most likely Egyptian, and it is improbable that the group using them would
have journeyed to Galilee to perform the rituals themselves. It is possible this
location was selected because the authors knew that Jesus was meant to have spent
significant time there, and it was intended to give the description additional historical
believability. It is clear, at any rate, that a physical setting is imagined for the rituals,
and the fact that the disciples are specifically instructed to perform the mysteries for
others who show themselves to be worthy suggests that regardless of specific
location they were actions to be performed in this life. That it is presented as a group
ritual, rather than an individual receiving private instruction as in the Corpus
Hermeticum 38 or in other Jewish or Christian apocalyptic ascent treatises, also
supports a view that it was intended for use by a group with shared beliefs
worshipping together.
The actions described in the rituals are also known from other ritual contexts:
standing in a circle, facing the four corners of the world, offering incense, wearing
linen garments, and consuming a ritual meal of bread and wine.
These were
common in both religious and “magical” ritual practice, and the fact that they are
explicitly performed on earth, prior to any idea of ascent, 39 further suggests that
actual, physical performance of them was intended.
38
See B.P. Copenhaver, Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New
English Translation with Notes and Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992).
39
Although 4PSa does have Jesus perform a ritual prayer to take the disciples to see parts of the
cosmos before the baptismal ritual, when the time of the ritual comes Jesus commands the powers
back to their places, and he and the disciples remain on the mountain of Galilee.
51
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
2.2.6
Liturgical Evidence
Further evidence that the texts were meant for use by a group rather than individual
contemplation is found in the hymn at the end of 1 Jeu, which features a “call and
response” format between the leader and fellow worshippers (1 Jeu 93-98). The
twelve surround Jesus, and he sings glory to the unapproachable God, with the
disciples giving a refrain of three amens and “O unapproachable God” after each
verse. The hymn takes the form of extended praise for the gradual unfolding and
production of the world, basically covering all of the details that the preceding text
has outlined. It is thus the reiteration of the group’s theology and cosmology in
hymnic form. The fact that it requires both a main speaker and the response of
additional participants makes it likely that it was meant for performance in a group
setting, reinforcing their belief system in an act of praise.
2.2.7
Group Identity and Persecution
There is also the fact that the texts make polemical comments about another specific
group—that which ritually consumes semen and menses (2 Jeu 100, 4PSb 381; see
also Epiphanius, Pan 26.4.5-8)—thus establishing themselves as representing a
separate, true tradition in opposition to the others’ false beliefs and practices. Further
details of this opposing group are given in 4PSb: their adherents claim belief in
“Esau and Jacob.” This is not a vague allegation of false teaching and sin, but rather
a specific accusation against the rites and beliefs of another, opposing group. There
is also reference to the group’s persecution for the sake of Jesus’ name (3PS 277),
but it is unclear whether this is reference to persecution of the group’s specific
beliefs or because of association with some version of Christianity. 2PS includes a
suggestion of persecution as well: the disciples will be elevated because they will be
afflicted in the world above all men until their preaching is complete (2PS 232).
This is perhaps due to the unorthodox nature of the preaching this group espouses,
which here claims apostolic authority. The necessity of traveling and preaching is
also discussed, with mysteries to be performed such that people in a place will
believe in their teachings (3PS 278-281). With increased (likely non-mainstream)
Christian influence, the group appears to become more mission-oriented: while
initially secrecy and injunctions only to give mysteries to those who are worthy are
52
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
highlighted, in the later 3PS instructions to spread the word and the mysteries are
more prominent. Its opening has Jesus say, “When I have gone to the light, preach to
the whole world” (3PS 256; see also 3PS 314). 2PS also reflects a proselytizing
tendency, when Jesus instructs the disciples to “preach to the whole race of
mankind” (2PS 250-251).
Although there were undoubtedly different levels of
initiation or instruction,40 the command to spread the word is still present. These are
not the words of lone authors writing for private readership and reflection. It might
also be noted that besides 1 Jeu, which specifies the disciples as “the twelve,”
elsewhere female disciples are also included, and a fixed number is not given. This
permits the inclusion of both males and females among the initiated. In the ritual
descriptions, the amount of bread is simply stated as being “according to the number
of disciples,” allowing for variation based on the number of people participating at a
given time.
2.2.8
Mysterious Mysteries
If these texts had been intended for private reading and contemplation, written by
individual authors with no shared rituals or theological views, the inclusion of lists of
ranks or mysteries that are promised but never elucidated—with some variation, but
including the five trees, the seven voices, the three amens, the twin saviors and the
nine watchers—would be, indeed, mysterious.
These mystery elements appear
several times throughout the Jeuian texts, particularly in 2 Jeu and 1 and 2PS, and are
unique to this body of tractates. Their inclusion in both the earliest and latest of the
Jeuian texts suggests a consistent kernel despite the variability seen in some of the
imagery. It is the mysteries that are always said to be the key to salvation—even at
the stage in which Jesus’ actions in the world have come to play a greater role. In 2
Jeu it states that
when those who have received these mysteries and the mystery of the forgiveness of
sins come forth from the body, all the aeons draw back (one) after another, and they flee
to the west and the left…until they (the souls) reach the gates of the Treasury of the
Light, and the watchers of the gates open to them.” (2 Jeu 104)
This leads the soul down a complex path leading ultimately to the innermost of the
inner, the final place of rest. This is at a stage when the world is not considered
40
For example, 3PS 264-272, 310-313, 327, 2PS 191-196, 203-208, 234-237, 245-247, 254.
53
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
inherently negative; thus, the mysteries serve primarily as knowledge allowing
passage. Without them, this postmortem rest is impossible. 2PS, apparently written
significantly later, has Jesus say:
…concerning the race of mankind, because it is material I have troubled myself, I have
brought all the mysteries of light to them, so that I should purify them…Otherwise no
soul of the whole race of mankind would be saved; nor would they be able to inherit the
Kingdom of the Light unless I had brought to them the mysteries of purification. (2PS
250)
Jesus’ role as bringer of the mysteries and the negativity of materiality are
highlighted, but still it is the mysteries themselves that are required for a human
being to achieve salvation and enter the Kingdom of Light. In all of these cases,
however, the mysteries themselves are never elucidated. In those texts scholars have
argued are individual literary products, 41 all that befalls the hero is explained in
detail, hymns are given in full, and the picture is made basically complete, if
convoluted at times. They present stories that might be appreciated on their own. In
the Jeuian texts, while certain mystery-rituals and the ascent passwords are clearly
presented, the nature and contents of these other necessary elements are tantalizingly
mentioned but never discussed. This supports the suggestion that they represent texts
of a group, which presented basic information necessary for initiation in texts for
study, but for deeper teachings direct oral instruction was required.
There is remarkably little detailed written information remaining on initiation
practices and other rites of early non-mainstream esoteric Christian groups, or the
mystery religions of the period. This likely stems from a combination of active
destruction and passive deterioration of evidence over time, combined with a sense
of secrecy that forbade the transmission of such secrets in writing. However, A.D.
DeConick has recently presented a highly convincing argument regarding the Ophite
diagram discussed in Origen’s Contra Celsum, suggesting that the diagram combined
a cosmic outline with the seals and prayers to be presented in the course of the soul’s
ascent—essentially, the diagram outlines the specifics of the initiation ritual into its
users’ community.42 Thus, texts containing detailed records of an esoteric group’s
41
See above, n.29 .
A.D. DeConick, “The Road for Souls Is Through the Planets: The Mysteries of the Ophites
Mapped,” in Practicing Gnosis: Ritual, Magic, Theurgy and Liturgy in Nag Hammadi, Manichaean
and Other Late Antique Literature. Essays in Honor of Birger A. Pearson, A.D. DeConick, G. Shaw,
and J.D. Turner, eds. (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming). Received in private communication.
42
54
CHAPTER 2 • THE JEUIAN TEXTS
knowledge and ritual practices are unusual, but not unprecedented. The Books of Jeu
in particular strike one as an initiatory handbook, with its formulaic layouts of
information to be memorized accompanied by the explanation of the initiatory
baptisms. As noted above, with the exception of the first, most basic baptism, the
ritual descriptions do not include the miraculous signs said to occur at the end of
each. 43 This is remarkable given the attention to detail given to the rest of the
ceremonies. This suggests that these signs were meant to be experienced by the
initiates firsthand, not recorded.
2.3 CONCLUSIONS
The texts of the Bruce and Askew Codices—specifically 1 Jeu, 2 Jeu, 4PSa, 4PSb,
3PS, 1 and 2PS, and a number of fragments—are all representative of the same
religious group. The evidence presented by the texts points strongly toward use in a
group or community context, as opposed to authorship by isolated thinkers with the
intention of individual reading and contemplation. The rituals they contain are set in
an earthly, group context, and are explicitly intended for repetition for other
believers.
Other mysteries necessary for salvation are alluded to, but never
explained, suggesting that direct, oral teaching was required for deeper knowledge.
At least one hymn preserved directly requires call and response between a main
speaker and a congregation, providing evidence for liturgical practices. The group
describes itself in opposition to others that engage in practices it finds reprehensible,
as well as alluding to persecution in the name of Jesus—whether at the hands of antiChristians or Christians who disapproved of their theological outlook is unclear. A
missionary inclination becomes increasingly apparent over time, perhaps as a result
of increased influence from various Christian groups in their teaching. Although
there is little clue as to where this group might have met or the nature of their usual
worship, the textual remnants leave little doubt that they were a religious group with
immense syncretistic adaptability. The strong soteriological core in the form of the
mysteries remains their primary identifying feature.
43
The same is true of the description in 4PSa 371, which appears to represent the first baptism of the
sequence in that text.
55
CHAPTER 3
COSMIC STRUCTURE AND HIERARCHY OF THE
JEUIAN WORLD
Some of the main concerns of many non-mainstream esoteric Christian groups, as
represented by both heresiological representations and the Nag Hammadi texts, are
the genesis of the highest realms from an original being or beings and the creation
and development of the lower regions of the cosmos. This fixation on universal
ordering is shared by the group that produced the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia.
Within these texts a great deal of time and effort are expended outlining all areas of
the cosmos, from those of the highest god and the land of light down to the lowest
realms of darkness and punishment. It is clear from the sheer bulk of text discussing
these realms that an understanding of their order, nature, and inhabitants was
considered of the utmost importance to the believers of this group. In addition to
receiving purification rituals on earth, knowledge of the names and details of the
beings along the ascension path could mean the difference between remaining in
torment and proceeding to salvation. Thus, in order to gain an understanding of the
system of the group producing these texts, an analysis of their cosmology is essential.
The issue of the cosmology of these texts is a complicated one. As the texts
were written over a period of time, certain ideas changed, and realms could be added,
removed, or their purposes altered. Each text presents a different piece of the overall
structure, and that structure changes as the ideology of the group changes. G.R.S.
Mead states that in these texts, the “evolution of the universe is according to a certain
order, but its involution seems to change that order; the soteriology modifies the
aeonology and cosmology.”1 By examining the roles of each cosmological realm
over the course of the texts’ development, a picture emerges of how ideas of the
material cosmos, the immaterial light realms, and individual salvation interacted with
each other over time. Furthermore, piecing together the full cosmological picture in
each individual text is necessary for an understanding of the stages of development in
the group’s view of the soteriological process.
1
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (1905; reprint: New York: University Books, 1960),
574.
57
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
A few scholars have attempted to present a coherent outline for the
cosmology of the first three books of the Pistis Sophia at the very least, with or
without input from 4PSa, 4PSb or the Books of Jeu. Perhaps the clearest are those
by C. Schmidt2 and G.R.S. Mead.3 Before embarking on a new discussion, a brief
look at two of these outlines will prove helpful.
Table 3.1: Outline of the Cosmology in the Pistis Sophia
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in
koptischer Sprache, 347-348
I.
The Highest Light-world or the
Kingdom of Light
a. The χωρηµατα of the
Ineffable
b. The two χωρηµατα of the
First Mystery
II.
The Higher Light-world
a. The Treasury of Light
i. The προβολαι of the
Light
ii. The Taxeis of the
Taxeis
b. The Place of the Right
c. The Place of the Midst
The Lower Light- or Aeon-world
III.
a.
The Place of the Left
i. The 13 aeons
ii. The ει̒µαρµενη
iii. The σφαιρα
iv. The Archons of the
Midst
v. The στερεωµα
b. The Cosmos, esp. humanity
c. The Underworld
i. Amenti
ii. Chaos
iii. Outer Darkness
2
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith
Forgotten, 574-575
The Ineffable
The limbs of the Ineffable
I.
The Highest Light-world, or the
Kingdom of Light
a. The First Space of the
Ineffable
b. The Second Space of the
Ineffable, or the First Space
of the First Mystery
c. The Second Space of the
First Mystery
II.
The Higher (or Middle) Lightworld
a. The Treasure of Light
III.
b. The Place of the Right
c. The Place of the Midst
The Lower Light- or Aeon-world
(The Mixture of Light and
Matter)
a. The Place of the Left
i. The Thirteenth
Aeon
ii. The Twelve Aeons
iii. The Fate
iv. The Sphere
v. The Rulers of the
Ways of the Midst
vi. The Lower
Firmament
b. The World of Men
c. The Under-world
i. Amenti
ii. Chaos
iii. Outer Darkness
Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache aus dem Codex Brucianus (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche
Buchhandlung, 1892), 347-348.
3
Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 574-575.
58
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
Terminology aside, these two outlines are very similar, with a few minor differences:
Mead separates the Ineffable and his limbs out into a level beyond the rest of the
outline, while Schmidt includes them in the Highest Light-world; Mead gives more
divisions to the upper spaces, while Schmidt gives more divisions to the Treasury of
Light; and Mead separates the 13th aeon from the 12 aeons, while Schmidt keeps
them as a unit. That the outlines are so similar is unsurprising, given Mead’s stated
agreement with Schmidt’s corrections and revisions of K.R. Köstlin’s earlier analysis
of the scheme of the Pistis Sophia.4
Mead does stipulate that this outline “represents only one configuration of the
cosmic mystery, at a certain moment in time, or in a certain phase of
consciousness.” 5 However, by taking each level of the cosmology in turn, the
development of each throughout the texts—and as such, the development of the
cosmology of the group as a whole—shall be better clarified. Some overlap will be
present, as certain subdivisions occasionally shift between larger regions.
The
highest (and indeed, lowest) levels of several versions of the order are different, so
this analysis shall begin with the highest posited out of all the texts, and work down
to the lowest of the low.
3.1 THE SPACES OF THE INEFFABLE AND THE FIRST MYSTERY
These are the highest regions in 3PS and 1/2PS, at the point in the textual tradition
where the Ineffable and the First Mystery become the terms used to refer to the
highest powers of the universe—previously the highest principle was referred to as
either the “unapproachable” god or Jesus’ Father, the father of all fatherhoods.
These regions and their associated mysteries are also closely tied to the places of the
inheritances (2PS 207-208; see also discussion of the Treasury of Light below).
They first appear as cryptic references to the mysteries of the first space
without, and the mysteries of the second space of the First Mystery (3PS 266-267).
Later the text describes a soul that “has not listened to the counterfeit spirit in all his
works, and becomes good and receives the mysteries of the light which are in the
4
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 574. For Köstlin’s original analysis, see “Das
gnostische System des Buches Pistis Sophia” in Theologisches Jahrbücher 13, von Baur and Zeller,
eds. (Bielefeld-Leipzig, 1854) 1-104, 137-196.
5
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 574.
59
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
second space, or those which are in the third space which are within” (3PS 286).
Shortly thereafter there is some discussion of a soul that has received mysteries in the
“first space without” (3PS 287).
In this instance, these spaces are not directly
connected with the Ineffable or the First Mystery. However, in both instances the
soul travels to the place of its inheritance (3PS 289), or “to the place of its kingdom,
as far as which it has received mysteries” (3PS 287). The inheritances are not a
single location; one’s final destination is dependent upon which mysteries one
received in life.
Later, Maria (likely Mary Magdalene) inquires about “the mysteries of these
three spaces and the mysteries of this First Mystery and the mysteries of the
Ineffable” (3PS 301-302). The mysteries of the three spaces have the power to
forgive all the sins a soul has committed to that point and afterward “up to the time
as far as which each one of the mysteries will be powerful” (
! !
).
However, those of the Ineffable and First Mystery can forgive all the sins the soul
commits, and further assure that no sin is reckoned to that soul until eternity. This
demonstrates that mysteries have different levels of efficacy, with those of the two
higher entities surpassing all others. It is unsurprising that within the context of the
spaces themselves there would be mysteries lower than those of the First Mystery, as
later at 2PS 205, ranks are posited below the level of the first ordinance in the first
space from without—the first ordinance being the lowest mystery of the First
Mystery. Indeed, the mysteries of the First Mystery are less powerful than those of
the Ineffable—despite the frequent connection of the two in discourse (3PS 269, 272,
277, 312), it is only the mystery of the Ineffable that can save the truly damned
transgressor (3PS 275, 304).
These spaces receive much greater elaboration in 1/2PS. In 1PS the spaces
immediately make their appearance. On the very first page it discusses the extent of
the mysteries which the disciples had received by the eleventh year of being taught
by the risen Jesus: he had taught them
only as far as the places of the first ordinance and as far as the places of the First
Mystery which is within the veil which is within the first ordinance, which is the 24th
mystery outside and below, these which are in the second space of the First Mystery
which is before all mysteries. (1PS 1)
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
The few references early in the first book are almost exclusively in connection with
the 24th mystery from within outward, and these 24 mysteries’ location in the second
space of the First Mystery (1PS 1, 5, 9, 10). The remaining reference is at 1PS 18,
where one of Jesus’ garments is attributed with “the whole glory of the name of all
the mysteries and all the emanations which are in the ranks of the two spaces of the
First Mystery.” This passage goes on to make it clear that the spaces of the First
Mystery also contain all of the lower regions of the universe, from the firmaments
upward—excluding only the ranks and emanations of the spaces of the Ineffable,
which are superior.
In 2PS these spaces are explored more thoroughly. The first of the important
references states that Jesus will take his disciples to “the three spaces of the First
Mystery, with the exception only of the places of the space of the Ineffable” (2PS
187). This suggests that the First Mystery has three spaces, but one of these spaces is
or contains the space of the Ineffable. Furthermore, within these spaces are multiple
places. Immediately after this statement Jesus begins to outline the places he will
take them, which begin with the Heimarmene, then the aeons, the Midst (
),
the place of the right, the Treasury of the Light, and the inheritances. It appears that
all of these regions are associated with the spaces of the First Mystery, which is in
accordance with the passage at 1PS 18.
Confusion begins to be apparent in 2PS 205-208.
Here a complicated
explanation of the hierarchy of the spaces appears in a discussion of exactly how far
a soul is allowed to travel based on the level of mysteries it has received. The lowest
level that is given is that of the first ordinance, the mysteries of which gives the soul
authority to go to all the ranks below it, those of the third space below the mysteries
of the First Mystery—or all of the material realms, and likely as far as the Midst
(
) or the Treasury. This is followed by the 24th mystery from without of the
First Mystery, which is the head of the first space on the outside. Then come the
remaining mysteries of the ranks of the 24 mysteries, as well as the mysteries of the
other ranks and spaces.
The nature and distribution of the 24 mysteries of the First Mystery, and
indeed the positioning of the three spaces in relation to the various levels, have been
61
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
the source of a great deal of discussion and debate. Schmidt struggles with these
issues in his discussion of Köstlin’s analysis, and in his own attempt at reconciling
this passage with another, later problematic passage and references from 1PS.6 He
first says that it is impossible for the ranks of the third space to be located below the
first ordinance, as it itself belongs to the ranks of the third space. Indeed he believes
that the text is mistaken on this point, attributing it to a corruption of the text or
confusion of the author. Furthermore, he becomes bogged down in attempting to
reconcile the distribution of the 24 mysteries of the First Mystery, with their apparent
appearance in the third space here and the second space at the beginning of 1PS. His
conclusions are understandably tentative, because of the confusing nature of the texts
and their relations to each other.
The interpretation to be proposed here, while provisional, has the advantage
of removing the assumption that the author has made a mistake in describing his own
cosmology. First, it is important to note the flexibility of the numbering of these
three spaces. There is a general assumption that there is one space of the Ineffable,
and two spaces of the First Mystery—although there is some overlap, with
occasional mention of a third space of the First Mystery which is generally
associated with the space of the Ineffable (2PS 187, 207). 7 These spaces can be
numbered from within outwards, or from without inwards. Thus, the third space
from within is also the first space from without. Furthermore, the same principle
applies to the two spaces of the First Mystery: the first space of the First Mystery is
in fact the second space from within or without, while the second space of the First
Mystery can also be the first space from without.8 In this case, the 24 mysteries of
the First Mystery are located in the first space from without, also called the third
space (from within), and further known as the second space of the First Mystery—in
all cases, the lowest level of these three highest levels or spaces. Depending on
context, this space can be referred to as the first, second, or third space.
Moreover, the statement at 1PS 1 that Schmidt finds problematic is also
explained: there, the places of the First Mystery are within the first ordinance, and
6
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 356-359.
2PS 206 also suggests that all of the ranks above the one who rules the 24 mysteries of the First
Mystery are the “ranks of the space of the Ineffable.”
8
This changing terminology appears from time to time, but is most clearly explained in 2PS 245-246.
7
62
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
the first ordinance is the 24th mystery outside and below. At 2PS 205, possessing the
mysteries of the first ordinance gives one the power to visit the ranks of the third
space below it—but it is the lowest rank mentioned, the other ranks being considered
insignificant. Its double duty as “first ordinance” and the last or 24th mystery from
within can be maintained, and as higher ranks are always “within” the lower ones, it
makes sense that the rest of the places of the First Mystery be located within it. The
head of the first space on the outside (or the third space) is the 24th mystery from
without, thus making it the first from within, or the highest of the 24 mysteries. The
ones who receive the “mysteries in the ranks of the 24 mysteries” and the “mysteries
of the ranks of the First Mystery in the third space” simply fall along the scale
between the first ordinance/24th mystery from within and the highest/24th mystery
from without, all of which combine to form the 24 mysteries of the First Mystery.
As noted above, Schmidt asserts that the statement about the first ordinance
giving access to all the ranks of the third space must be attributed to “eine
Ungenauigkeit des Verfassers oder Verberbnis des Textes.”9 However, the text itself
later states that the “mysteries of these three portions of the light [connected here
with the three spaces] are exceedingly numerous” (2PS 246), and in fact that not all
of them are necessary—a result of the development of cosmology and soteriology,
and the streamlining of the earlier mysteries discussed elsewhere in this volume.
Above it has been established that all of the lower regions of the universe were
included in the space of the First Mystery. Thus, it would be perfectly reasonable to
believe that the lowest of the 24 mysteries of the First Mystery—the first
ordinance—would give its recipient access to all the lower ranks and regions of its
space, and indeed that these ranks are numerous.
There is some further discussion of the spaces and their associated mysteries;
perhaps the most important information is related to the types of the mysteries of
each space and what is to be expected to travel through them: the first space from
without has secret signs, answers and defenses needed, but the remaining two do not
(2PS 242-244, 245-246, 247, 254-255). This will be discussed further below.
The exception to this general outline of the spaces and their contents, and
perhaps the most problematic of the passages on the “highest light-world,” is found
9
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 357.
63
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
in 2PS 220-226. Here the knowledge of the mystery of the Ineffable is outlined
(Table 3.2). It posits the emanation of most of these higher beings or ranks to the
“fatherless ones,” and presents a far more complex line of development than
elsewhere. This passage is the only time the fatherless ones are mentioned in the
whole of the Pistis Sophia. It is odd that beings with such a prominent role in the
development of the highest realms of existence would receive such little attention.
The placement and division of the three triple-spirited ones and the first ordinance
are also at odds with the rest of the text. Suffice it to say that its contents clash with
and are unparalleled in the rest of the book. It appears to be an awkward insertion of
ideas from another source, and if there is a section that should be attributed to
confusion on the part of the author/compiler, it seems that this is a likely candidate.
Table 3.2: Knowledge of the Mystery of the Ineffable (2PS 220-226)
5 helpers
Great Light of Lights
First ordinance (divided into seven mysteries)
Great light of the incisions
First Mystery (24th mystery from without)
12 motionless ones
Unshakeable ones
Unthinkable ones
12 unmarked ones
Undisclosed ones
Fathomless ones
12 ranks of the unutterable ones
Imperishable ones
Endless ones
12 incomprehensible ones
24 myriad singers of praise
24 mysteries/spaces of the first triple-spirited one
24 mysteries of the second triple-spirited one
24 mysteries/spaces of the third triple-spirited one
5 trees of the first triple-spirited one
5 trees of the second triple-spirited one
5 trees of the third triple-spirited one
C
(pl) of the first triple-spirited one
C
(pl) of the second triple-spirited
one
C
(pl) of the third triple-spirited one
First triple-spirited one from below
Second triple-spirited one
First triple-spirited one from above
12th pre-triple-spirited one
In summary, the three spaces appear, in fact, to be different terminology for
the whole of existence, from the material realms to the pinnacle in the spaces of the
Ineffable. Speculation using these terms was a relatively late development, only
really beginning in 3PS and flowering in 1/2PS. However, the introduction of these
terms does not imply as dramatic a change in the cosmological speculation of the
authors as might appear on the surface, or indeed as has been assumed by scholars to
this point. They provide the highest mysteries and access to the various ranks of the
inheritance; closer analysis, however, shall demonstrate just how closely these
64
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
concepts and their structure are tied to language surrounding the Treasury of the
Light in all of the older texts.
3.2 THE TREASURY OF LIGHT
Prior to the spaces of the Ineffable and the primacy of the inheritances of the light,
the Treasury or Treasuries of Light were the pinnacle of the cosmological hierarchy.
They are the earliest region or regions to be discussed in the texts. They dominate 1
Jeu, which strives to outline all 60 treasuries that make up this early iteration, and
remain a powerful force in the background of all the remaining texts.
1 Jeu has sometimes been criticized for being repetitive, unimaginative, and
dull, but in fact it preserves one of the most detailed ascension handbooks to survive
late antiquity. The first section outlines the structures of the first 28 levels of the
treasuries, beginning with the highest or innermost level and working outwards. The
second section jumps in at the 55th treasury, detailing the seals and defenses needed
by the initiate to pass through each level. Schmidt suggests that the treasuries are
divided into two classes of thirty treasuries each, to account for the differences in the
style or structure in which the two types are presented. He believes this explains the
reference in 2 Jeu to two Treasuries of Light.10 Mead disagrees, holding that there
were likely originally sixty Jeu-diagrams. 11 The lengthy lacuna in the middle
prevents a definitive resolution of this conflict, but Mead’s conclusion on this point
is the more probable: at the end of the description of the 60th treasury, Jesus reiterates
that he has now presented the disciples with the placing of all the treasuries, from
C
to
–the former being the name of the true god
or the first Jeu in the first part, and the latter being the name of the father of the
sixtieth treasury just presented.
The different formats of the two sections appear to be a result of the different
aims of each section: the first part endeavors to present a full list of the inhabitants of
each level and a map of their layout and contents, while the second part strives to
give the initiate the information he or she needs to ascend through them, focusing on
names, seals, and ciphers for accessing each level. It is unfortunate that a fuller
10
11
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 371.
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 540.
65
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
account does not exist to allow for comparison. One imagines that some interesting
deductions could have been made if corresponding outline- and defense-sections had
been preserved.
However, there are still key observations to be made in what
remains of the text.
In 1 Jeu the Treasuries of Light are the highest realms attainable by the
believer. Their heads are emanated by Jeu, the true God—a title used repeatedly for
Jeu in this book and nowhere else—who himself is emanated and made to emanate
by Jesus’ Father, the unapproachable God. There is some variation between the
contents or structure of different diagrams in this first section, much of which can
likely be attributed to scribal confusion or error. The character diagrams will receive
further treatment in Ch. 5. For now it is sufficient to note that the basic structures or
inhabitants expected in each level are:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
The Father of the treasury: a being possessing a mystery name with
“
” as its final element
Four/five boxes surrounding the
-being
A series of alphas leading into and out of these boxes, held between
two lines which divide these boxes
Twelve emanations/heads
Three/six watchers
The “character” of the Father of the treasury
Figure 3.1: “Jeu” Diagram Outline (Jeu 12)
Letters signifying positions
of the watchers
The name of each
-being/treasury
Father written within
4 or 5 nested boxes
Three watcher names;
three more are in the
accompanying text –
the letters over them
correspond to the sets
of three letters at the
top/bottom of each
page (two sets at top in
Schmidt’s layout)
The alphas are veils
before the Father of
the treasury; the two
lines are the pathways
to the presence of the
Father
Twelve emanations of
the Father of the
treasury
“Character” diagram for
the Father of the treasury
66
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
These elements, as mentioned above, present something of a map of each level—a
map which is opaque on its own, but which receives further illumination in the
second part of the text, in the explanation of the sixtieth treasury.
There the text says of the two lines holding the series of alphas, “they are the
pathways when you will go to the presence of the Father, to his place and his interior.
These alphas are also veils which are drawn before him” (1 Jeu 86). Thus, the father
of each level rests at its center, behind a series of veils.12
The positioning of the watchers must be extrapolated, as the example of the
sixtieth and outermost treasury is apparently unique: while there is only one gate
within the treasury, “it has three gates at its exterior which is outside of it. And over
them are nine watchers, three over each gate, and the name of each of them is
different” (1 Jeu 87).13 The nine watchers over the three gates at the outermost point
of the treasuries take on a life of their own in the later texts, as will be discussed
shortly, but the information is still useful in explaining the Jeu diagrams. We know
from this that the watchers remain at the gates of each treasury. In the examples that
remain in the first section, there are three watcher names given within each diagram,
alongside the names of the twelve emanations. There are a further three watcher
names given in the text accompanying each level. All six of these names have
individual letters over them.
12
It may be worth noting that the symbol found in the boxes along with the name of the treasury
Father bear some resemblance to the Egyptian hieroglyph
, which means “road” but can also
have the sense of “ascend” (A. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of
Hieroglyphs [1927; reprint: London: Oxford University Press, 1957], sign N31). However, it may be
closer to
, “canal” (N36). For other possible hieroglyphic antecedents in the text, as well as
caution on positing hieroglyphic origin, see Section 5.2.3.2.
13
This and the preceding quote give further evidence supporting the 60 treasuries of one type theory
over Schmidt’s theory of division: in the actual presentation of the 60th treasury as given here, there
are no pathway lines, alphas, or watchers shown or given, whereas all of these elements are clearly
identifiable in the diagrams of the first section.
67
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
Schmidt’s
layouts
of
the
Figure 3.2: Sample Page from 1 Jeu
diagrams, with their placement of two
sets of three letters at the top of each,
are highly stylized, in part due to his
lack of understanding of their meaning.
In actuality there is one set of three at
the top of each page, and another at the
bottom, after the accompanying text.
Those letters at the top correspond with
those over the watcher names within the
diagram, and those at the bottom with
the letters tied to the watchers in the
additional text. In Schmidt’s version,
the upper set of letters consists of those
from the bottom of the previous page.
It would appear there are two gates for
each level, one going in and one leading
out, with three watchers over each gate.
The diagrams present the names and
Jeu 24: Note lines with sets of three letters at
top and bottom, not two on top (source: the
Bruce Codex)
positions of each of these watchers.
It should be noted that Mead applies the discussion of the watchers of the
sixtieth treasury to all of the treasuries: “within each treasure is a Door or Gate, and
without three Gates; each of the outer Gates has three Guardians, but the inner gate
has but one, presumably the father of the treasure himself.”14 Nowhere does the text
suggest that the structure of the sixtieth treasury should apply to all of the rest, and
indeed all indications suggest that the sixtieth was viewed as special or different, as it
was the beginning of the journey inward. The fact that the nine watchers of the three
gates became so iconic as the first stage of the set of ranks or mysteries associated
with the treasuries is further evidence that it is not something to be applied to the rest
of the stages. Furthermore, there is no indication of any gates with only a single
14
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 541.
68
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
watcher, nor that the father of the treasury serves as a watcher of his own gate.15
Indeed, in each of the cases in the second section, wherein the process of gaining
access and moving through each treasury is given, presentation of the appropriate
name, cipher and seal causes “the watchers and the ranks and the veils [to be] drawn
back, until you go to the place of their Father” (1 Jeu 83-86). The father does present
a name and a seal, after which the initiate moves through a gate, but this appears to
be part of the process of ascension rather than the Father of the treasury acting as a
guardian or watcher. The watchers, as guardians, only act to bar the passage of those
who do not possess the necessary knowledge, and move aside upon presentation of
that knowledge; they do not give information themselves. Mead does not appear to
have realized the correspondence between the names of the watchers and the letters
at the top of each diagram, and thus fails to recognize that the diagrams themselves
demonstrate the general structure of each treasury.
The treasuries themselves are divided into five “ranks” (
): “There are
two ranks of Fatherhood within, and one in the middle, and two outside” (
-
-
& a
; 1 Jeu 83). It seems that the sixty treasuries are divided into five sections. It
is possible that the treasuries were viewed as being arranged in concentric circular or
spherical ranks. 16 Thus, in the 55th treasury, Jesus explains that they are in the
“second rank of the treasury of those without,” or the “two ranks of those outside” (1
Jeu 83). This uses terminology similar to that utilized in the discussion of the spaces
of the Ineffable or the First Mystery—thus, this “second rank of those without”
would be the outermost circle or ranking, as there are only two ranks on the outside.
The 55th treasury would be located in this outermost rank, or the second rank of those
without, as reckoned from the innermost. Furthermore there are “five ranks of
fatherhood in the middle/Midst (
)” (1 Jeu 83), suggesting the five non-
15
The necessity of three watchers per gate derives from the text’s Egyptian antecedents, as will be
discussed in Section 6.1.
16
See also below, Figure 3.3.
69
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
luminary planets in the path of the ecliptic.17 The most likely interpretation of the
treasuries, their maps and ranks in 1 Jeu is as a star map. As the oldest of the texts, it
has the strongest ties to star worship and the Egyptian notion of the dead finding final
rest among the stars. This will be discussed in greater detail in Ch. 6.
Such was the conception of the treasuries in 1 Jeu. 2 Jeu also begins with a
discussion of the Treasury of Light, but it is now referred to as the singular “Treasury
of Light,” as a specific, properly named region, rather than as the series of individual
treasuries.18 There are no fewer than four lists of ranks or mysteries associated with
the Treasury of Light in 2 Jeu, no two of which are identical (see Table 3.3). Clearly
a great deal of speculation was occurring about these regions, their contents, and
what was to be expected, and this author has apparently compiled a number of
different versions of these speculations. However, despite the variations, the basic
components of the list are generally the same. Both in 2 Jeu and in versions of the
list found in 1/2PS, the watchers, child of the child (or twin saviors), 3 amens, 5
trees, and 7 voices appear in some order in almost every account. Although the bulk
of 2 Jeu is devoted to discussing the baptismal rituals and the information needed to
traverse the lower aeonic regions, the number of lists and passing references to the
Treasury demonstrates that the attainment of this pinnacle of existence was obviously
still high in the minds of those in the initial stages of preparation for the journey. In
addition, the fact that the main elements remain the same in the earliest and latest
texts further demonstrates the unity of system between these early and late texts.
Despite differences in surface theme and language, the core mysteries remain
essentially the same.
17
See discussion of the
below, and Section 6.2. The use of the term
here as a region,
despite its frequent appearance in the Pistis Sophia, goes without remark from previous translators.
MacDermot translates it as “middle” without a capital letter, missing the connection.
18
However, it is occasionally referred to in the plural; see 2 Jeu 117, 125, 126, 135, 136. 2 Jeu 123
also specifically mentions a “second Treasury of Light.”
70
5 Trees/
Unmoved Trees
7 Voices
Triple Spirits
Place of Jeu
(Treasury of the
Outermost Ones)
Treasury of the
Innermost Ones
(Silence and
Quietness)
5 Trees of ToL
7 voices & Will
of the 49 Powers
Name of all
Names/Great
Light surrounding
ToL
The Triplepowered one
Ranks of the 5
Trees
7 voices
Incomprehensible
Ones of ToL
7 Amens
Fatherless Ones
3 Amens
The Twins
7 Voices
(continued – see
Appendix)
Great Jao the
Good (of ToL)
Great Sabaoth (of
ToL)
Child of the Child
3 Amens
Ranks of the
Treasury
Child of the Child
3 Amens
5 Trees
9 Watchers of
ToL
Watchers of
Gates of ToL
9 Watchers of 3
Gates of ToL
Watchers
2 Jeu 119-125
2 Jeu 104-105
2 Jeu 103
2 Jeu 99-100
Table 3.3: Ranks of the Treasury of Light
First Ordinance
5 Incisions
(Extension of
Great Light)
5 Helpers
7 Amens = 7
Voices
5 Trees
3 Amens
Twin Savior =
Child of Child
Watchers of
(doors) of ToL
1PS 2-3
First Ordinance =
Mystery of the
Informer
5 Incisions
Great
Light/Messenger
of Ineffable
5 Leaders = 5
Helpers
Ranks of
emanations of
ToL
Saviors of ToL
7 Amens
7 Voices
5 Trees
3 Amens
Twin Savior =
Child of Child
9 Watchers of 3
Gates of ToL
1PS 18
5 Trees
3 Amens
Twin Saviors
9 Watchers of
ToL
Saviors
2PS 194
7 Voices
7 Amens
5 Trees
3 Amens
Twin Saviors
9 Watchers & 3
Gates of ToL
3 Amens (+ 12
Saviors?)
5 Trees
12 Saviors
Emanations of
Light
2PS 217
Twin Saviors
9 Watchers
2PS 197
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
71
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
The books of the Pistis Sophia present considerably less explicit information
on the Treasury of Light. In part this is due to the different focus these later texts
have, with their reduced coverage of ascension in general and their greater interest in
punishments for sinful souls, anthropogony and mythology. However, although its
importance is further partly obscured by the introduction of terminology of the
spaces of the First Mystery and the Ineffable, it continues to play a key role, as shall
be seen below.
In 4PSa the Treasury of Light is still the highest realm of existence, although
this fact is never explicitly mentioned. The (mystery) name of the Father of the
Treasury of Light is said to be a word of power in the prayers near the beginning of
the text (4PSa 354), and plays a key role in the baptismal rite detailed later on (4PSa
370). Furthermore, Jesus gives a list of places for which he will give the disciples
the mysteries to travel through them, beginning with the twelve aeons; the Treasury
of Light is at the pinnacle of this list. Immediately after his statement that he will
give them the mystery of the Treasury of Light, Jesus states, “I will give to you all
mysteries and all knowledge, so that you may be called: ‘Sons of the pleroma,
complete in all knowledge and all mysteries’” (4PSa 359). Thus, the Treasury is the
height of all mysteries and the ultimate destination of the believer.
There is some other discussion of the Treasury in 4PSa in the context of
production and purification: the archons and gods and powers are said to have come
into existence through the matter of the light of the Treasury (
!
!
), and light purified in the archons is retrieved and brought back
into the Treasury (4PSa 360-361).19 Then, in describing what he brought into the
world, Jesus says that he brought water and fire from the Treasury (4PSa 368).
Finally, in 4PSb, which is largely a delineation of what happens to sinful souls, it is
said that one who in the end receives the mysteries of the light will inherit the
Treasury of Light, even if they committed all sorts of iniquities before performing
these mysteries (4PSb 383).
All of this demonstrates that despite not being the focal point of these texts,
the Treasury of Light is still the pinnacle of the cosmological structure, with Jesus’
19
Note that matter as dregs appears to be a natural product of the light realm, and not the result of a
divine fall as per certain other non-mainstream esoteric Christian myths.
72
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
Father being its source. That Father, the same Father who receives the baptismal
prayers in the Books of Jeu, has the name of power that gives prayers greater
potency. Jeu works primarily in the cosmos that he organizes and orders; however,
he resides in the place of the right, which is here still a part of or another name for
the regions of the Treasury.
The Treasury plays an even less prominent role in 3PS. The lack of attention
given to it is a factor of both: 1) the text’s greater concern with punishments for
sinful souls, the functionality of baptisms, and discussion of the formation of the
human being; and, 2) the introduction of the new language of inheritances/spaces of
the First Mystery and the Ineffable. The Treasury here plays a role as the resting
place for souls that have completed their cycles in the world, having been rescued
from the dragon of the outer darkness. These souls are not allowed back into the
world and have not received the mysteries of the light or the sign of the Ineffable, but
their examiner—the Virgin of the Light or Jeu—has mercy on them, giving them the
baptism of the seven virgins, purifying them, and setting them in the last rank of the
Treasury, saving them from punishment (3PS 325, 330-331). Its other appearance is
as the final pausing place before entry into the place of the inheritance for the soul
that has received the mysteries to free it from the counterfeit spirit and destiny (3PS
291). It now appears as the final place of sealing prior to accessing the place of the
inheritance.
In 1/2PS the Treasury is bound closely with the place of the inheritances or
the spaces of the First Mystery/Ineffable. What lies beyond the Treasury of Light is
the place of the inheritances (1PS 90; 2PS 189, 191). The first ordinance, in addition
to being the outermost of the 24 mysteries of the First Mystery (1PS 1), is also the
outermost barrier to the inheritances of the light (2PS 198). Thus, the places of the
three spaces within the first ordinance must refer to the place of the inheritances.
The soul that enters the first ordinance proceeds “to go to the inheritance of the light
as far as the place of their mystery” (2PS 198); so it would seem that the various
mysteries of the First Mystery correspond to places within these spaces. Later there
is discussion of the mysteries of the Ineffable:
[I]t possesses one mystery, but that mystery makes three mysteries to be one mystery,
but the type of each of them is different. And furthermore it makes five mysteries to be
one also, but the type of each one is different, so that these five mysteries are equal with
73
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
one another in the mystery of the kingdom in the inheritances of the light…And their
kingdom is superior and more elevated than the whole kingdom of the twelve mysteries
of the First Mystery together… (2PS 238)20
The hierarchy is further established at 2PS 245: those who receive the twelfth
mystery of the First Mystery are inferior to those who receive the five mysteries of
the Ineffable, and those are inferior to those who receive the three mysteries of the
Ineffable, and all are inferior to those who receive the one mystery of the Ineffable
(12<5<3<1). All of these mysteries appear to refer to the same general structure, but
with different outlines and divisions, with the more all-encompassing knowledge
being superior to the more numerous but lower interpretations.
Furthermore, the three spaces are also referred to as the Kingdom of the
Light, which has three portions that are exceedingly numerous (2PS 245-246). 21
This is also the point where the Books of Jeu are mentioned, which contain the
“inferior mysteries” as well as the great mysteries.22 It has been established that the
outermost space contains all of the aeons and lower realms, accounting for the
presence of inferior mysteries among its portions; indeed, 2 Jeu presents the
mysteries of the aeons. Jesus describes the great mysteries as
the heads of the mysteries which I will give you and will say to you in all their patterns
and all their types and their ciphers and the seals of the last space, which is the first
space from without. And I will say to you the answers and the defences and the secret
signs of that space. On the other hand, the second space within possesses no answers,
or defences, or secret signs, or ciphers, or seals, but it possesses only types and patterns.
(2PS 247)
This certainly seems to point to the contents of 1 Jeu, with its detailed outlines of
types, ciphers, seals, and names/defences, and with each treasury possessing a
number of “heads.” Due to the corruption of the text, we only know that the
outermost treasuries possessed ciphers, seals, and defences; for the innermost ones,
20
See also 2PS 242.
2 Jeu also states that the baptisms each make one to be numbered “within the inheritance of the
Kingdom of the Light” (2 Jeu 108, 112, 114). This language is slightly altered in the 4PSa baptism
account, where it causes the disciples to be numbered “within the Kingdom of my Father, the Father
of the Treasury of the Light” (4PSa 371).
22
H.-M. Schenke suggests the passage stating that the Books of Jeu also contain the portions of the
Kingdom of Light should be deleted (“Vorwort,” xxxii, in C. Schmidt, Koptisch-gnostische Schriften,
Vol. 1: Die Pistis Sophia. Die beiden Bücher des Jeû. Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk 4., um das
Vorwort erweiterte Auflage herausgegeben von Hans-Martin Schenke (1905; revised 4th edition
Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1981), xvi-xxxiv); however, this passage is in keeping with the scheme of
the text.
21
74
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
all that remains for certain are their patterns and characters. It is possible that the
ascension information for the inner treasuries was different.
Moreover, the complex division of the mysteries/spaces is also reflected in 1
Jeu. The sixty treasuries are divided into five “ranks” (
): as quoted above,
“There are two ranks of Fatherhood within, and one in the middle, and two outside”
(1 Jeu 83). Thus, these five ranks are also viewed as three sets of outside, inside, and
middle. 2PS 191 notes that the twelve saviors of the Treasury each have twelve
ranks; 1 Jeu also states that each treasury has twelve ranks. It appears that the
general structure of these regions and their inhabitants remains similar. Both 1PS
and 1 Jeu suppose that Jesus takes twelve powers from the Treasury, and that these
powers come to be part of the disciples (1PS 11, 14; 1 Jeu 53, 89). Also, 1PS
suggests that the inheritances are located within the Treasury of Light (
!
! !
!
, 1PS 80; see also 1PS 33,
90). 2PS posits that only the emanations of the Treasury are inferior—the twelve
saviors of the Treasury and all those who have received mysteries will be at their
appropriate places within the place of the inheritances when the perfect number is
completed and the All is raised up (2PS 191, 195-196). The place of the inheritances
is only open to those who receive the “mystery of the light of the Treasury of the
Light” (
!
:
!
!
, 2PS 191).
Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, 1 Jeu also says of the sixtieth (or outermost)
treasury, “they make a head to rule over them, which is called the first ordinance and
the first mystery” (1 Jeu 87, emphasis mine).23 The outermost treasury is referred to
with the same terms used to describe the outermost mystery of the spaces of the First
Mystery/inheritances in 1/2PS.
It is thus proposed that the places of the inheritance
and the greater mysteries of the Kingdom of the Light are, in fact, the sixty treasuries
of the light and their associated mysteries as outlined in 1 Jeu.24
23
Note that in 3PS Jeu himself, the head of all the treasuries in 1 Jeu, is called the “Messenger of the
First Ordinance (
!
! ! !
)” (3PS 319, 330).
24
It is worth noting that in 2 Jeu both the first and second Treasuries are also said to be within the
interior of the ranks of the first ordinance and the inheritance (2 Jeu 122-123). They may, then,
represent broader subdivisions (equivalent to the “spaces”) of the many treasuries found in 1 Jeu,
further supporting the notion that the general structure of the highest divine world remains essentially
similar throughout the texts.
75
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
The sixty treasuries
are divided into five ranks,
Figure 3.3: Possible Representation of the Spaces
of the First Mystery/Ineffable/Inheritances
with twelve treasuries in each
rank. By combining these as
1 Jeu suggests, two on the
outside, one in the middle,
and two on the inside, one
arrives at the three spaces.
The outermost space contains
twenty-four
places.
The
twelve divisions represented
by wedges in Figure 3.3
possibly represent the twelve
mysteries of the First Mystery
suggested at 2PS 238, 242, 245; the five concentric circles are those of the five ranks
or mysteries of the Ineffable, and the three groupings of those ranks are the three
mysteries of the Ineffable. The one mystery of the Ineffable contains knowledge of
the whole—“the twelve mysteries of the First Mystery together” (2PS 207), which
contains knowledge of the whole universe and all it contains (2PS 208-217).
Although the terminology of the Treasury itself has been confused and apparently
downgraded, and despite the new language of the spaces, its true importance still
shines through. The Saviors of the Treasury are fellow-rulers with Jesus, the First
Mystery; they rule in the Treasury until the end of the eon; and entrance to the place
of the inheritances is allowed only with the mystery of the light of the Treasury.
Even the structure of the treasuries found in 1 Jeu is preserved as the epitome of
existence, disguised with the lofty language of the Ineffable.25
25
It should also be noted that in the lengthy story of the fall and redemption of Pistis Sophia, there is a
reference to the Treasury having a gate that opens directly onto the thirteenth aeon, in the place of the
left (2PS 169); this seems to bypass the interim layers of the places of the right and the Midst
(
) which appear in all of the other cosmological layerings of this text (see 1PS 18-19, 2PS
188-189; 216-217). This is likely the result of the myth representing an allegorical interpretation of
the fallen soul, and is not directly connected with the present cosmology of the group, as will be
discussed further below. In any case, it is the only example of the Treasury having any direct
connection with the lower realm of the aeons.
76
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
In sum, the Treasury (or Treasuries) of Light represent the highest realm one
can attain in these texts. The names, mysteries, and rituals associated with it were of
the utmost importance to the group using these texts; 1 Jeu presents in full the
mysteries that are only alluded to through a veil in 1/2PS. Despite the later language
of the spaces of the First Mystery and the Ineffable, the role which the Treasury fills
remains the same, and even in the later texts the beings associated with the Treasury
are Jesus’ companions and those of the highest rank. That the region appears little in
the latest texts is possibly a result of these texts being more focused on exegesis of
myth, scripture, and incorporation of elements from various Christian groups which
may have been playing an increased role in the group’s cultural milieu. The fact that
its mysteries are shrouded in vagueness may be because they are directed toward
newer initiates, with promise of mysteries to come, but without revealing too much
too soon. It was, after all, the mysteries that were still the most important element
for the initiate or follower of this group, combined with a good moral/ethical life.
3.3 THE PLACE OF THE RIGHT
The place of the right has traditionally been placed immediately below the Treasury
of Light, as seen in the two outlines given by previous scholars. However, its origin
appears to have actually been as a term for the Treasury itself. Through the course of
its development it becomes detached and devalued, its purpose obscured in the
introduction of new levels and language regarding the higher realms.
Its first appearance in 2 Jeu is in a list of places for which Jesus promises to
give the disciples their mysteries. The order here is:
1)
2)
3)
4)
The twelve divine aeons,
The (place of the) invisible God,
The Midst (
), and
The place of the right. (2 Jeu 101-102)
The mysteries of the twelve aeons are duly given later in the text. After this, the
thirteenth aeon is described as housing the great invisible God. There is following
this a “fourteenth aeon,” which is otherwise unknown in other texts, but that appears
to be a clumsy addition of the author that should actually be part of the thirteenth
aeon. Beyond this is an unnamed space that, based on the nature of its inhabitants, it
77
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
is fairly clear that it is in fact the Midst (
), as will be demonstrated more
clearly in Section 3.4. The important detail to be taken from this latter space in
relation to the place of the right, however, is that the three beings in that region are
described as being “outside the Treasuries of the Light” (2 Jeu 135).26 Although the
text cuts off before progressing beyond this place, it certainly appears that these good
beings who are held back only by their lack of the mystery of the forgiveness of sins
are stationed immediately before the Treasury; they are waiting for when “[Jesus]
will give the mystery of the forgiveness of sins to these three archons of the light
which are the last of all the aeons, because they have believed in the mystery of the
Kingdom of the Light” (2 Jeu 137). The mystery of the forgiveness of sins is the
ultimate requirement for entry into the Treasury; although descriptions of the
circumstances for its administration are varied (2 Jeu 104, 117-118, 124-125, 137), it
inevitably gives access past the watchers to the Treasury and indeed to the presence
of the true God, located in its heart. These beings in the Midst are “superior to all the
gods which are in all the aeons” (2 Jeu 136)—they are beyond the lower aeons that
form the “place of the left” in later texts—and wait here immediately outside the
Treasury until they receive the ultimate mystery through Jesus’ grace.
Establishing that the place of the right is in fact the Treasury at this early
stage helps to explain some of the statements in the later texts. In 4PSa, Jesus
describes the right as “our place” (4PSa 358)—a description that makes much more
sense if the place of the right is associated directly with the Treasury that the rest of
the document focuses on as the ultimate destination of purified light and souls. This
description comes in a list of regions almost identical to that presented above from 2
Jeu. In each instance, he promises them the mystery of the region and the manner of
calling upon the beings of each of them. Here, the Treasury of Light does follow the
place of the right—however, it does not stipulate they are separate regions. Rather,
after the Midst, Jesus uses a different phrase, saying that he will give the disciples the
baptism of those of the right, “our place,” before returning to the language of giving
them the mystery of the Treasury. This further suggests that the place of the right is
so closely associated with the Treasury as to be a part of it. The baptism of those of
26
Usually in 2 Jeu the Treasury of Light is singular, and MacDermot also translates it so; however,
the text reads plural in this instance. See n.18.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
the right is simply a requirement before entry to the Treasury—“those of the right”
being those who dwell there.
Jeu is also said to come from the right (4PSa 355, 361), and is described as
being on equal level with Zorokothora Melchisedek, whose activities culminate in
the Treasury. They act together when the time of their rank comes: they go down to
remove the purified light of the archons, and when they cease this, together they
“withdraw to the places of the Treasury of the Light” (4PSa 360). Zorokothora
Melchisedek “bears the lights and takes them into the gate of those of the Midst
(
), and takes them to the Treasury of the Light”—effectively suggesting that
there is no intervening place between the two, while Jeu withdraws to the places of
those of the right (4PSa 360-361). Based on previous descriptions of the Treasury, it
is certainly likely there are multiple regions of the Treasury, and the two figures here
each simply return to their own posts within. Furthermore, the Great Sabaoth, the
Good, looks forth from the height out of those of the right in the process of freeing
souls from the realm of one of the evil archons (4PSa 361).27 This would still situate
him in a region of the Treasury, consistent with his placement in 2 Jeu 119.
There are only two references to the place of the right in 3PS, both times in
close proximity to the rare mentions of the Treasury of Light. The first comes in the
description of the path of a soul that has received the mystery to release the seals of
the counterfeit spirit. After a lengthy account of performing the mystery and moving
upwards, it eventually reaches the Great Sabaoth, the Good, who is “above the gate
of life in the place of the right.” The soul gives him praise, and receives his seals. It
then gives its knowledge of the whole place of those of the right, receiving their
seals, before the receivers of Melchisedek—who is also specified as being in the
place of those of the right—take it to the Treasury of Light (3PS 291). Here there is
still no definite separation between the Treasury and the place of (those of) the right.
The beings that have heretofore been associated with the place of the right, identified
27
In this I disagree with MacDermot’s translation of “
c ! !
! !
"
! !
” that he “looks forth from the height upon those of the right,” (emphasis mine). Mead’s
version from the Latin transcription, that he “looketh from the height out of those of the Right,” seems
more accurate. (G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia: The Gnostic Tradition of Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and
his Disciples [1921; reprint: Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2005], 303.)
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
as the Treasury, have remained tied to it, and Melchisedek in particular continues to
act within the realm of the Treasury as a being of the place of those of the right.
The second reference is in an explanation of the fate of the soul of an
unrepentant sinner for whom a believer on earth prays. After being rescued from its
punishments, it is either sent back to earth in a righteous body, or if it has completed
its cycles on earth, it is baptized and placed in “the last rank of the light until the
ascension of all the perfect souls. And when they prepare to draw the veils of the
place of those of the right, they cleanse that soul once more and purify it, and place it
in the ranks of the first savior who is in the Treasury of the Light” (3PS 325). It is
perhaps similar to the notion in 4PSa, where the “baptism of those of the right” is the
last hurdle to cross before entering the Treasury proper. It is likely that it is along the
same lines as the earlier texts, with the Treasury as a whole comprising the place of
“those of the right.”
The lack of attention given to the place of (those of) the right parallels the
same phenomenon in this book with the Treasury, showing the author’s lack of
interest in these higher realms in comparison to those of punishment and other
anthroponomical concerns. Although it is not entirely clear whether at this point the
place of the right was considered as a separate entity from the Treasury, or still as a
region of or another name for it, indications in the text suggest that the latter is more
likely.
Only in 1/2PS are there clear signs of separation between the place of the
right and the Treasury. There are only a few references to the place of the right in
1PS, two of which relate Sabaoth the Good to it (1PS 14, 28). The remaining
instance is in a list of the contents of Jesus’ second garment of glory: it begins at the
top with the spaces of the First Mystery, working its way down through the ranks of
the Treasury of Light. After the three gates of the Treasury of Light, which have
already been shown to be the outer limit of the regions of the Treasury, it goes on to
say that it has “the whole glory of the name <of all those> who are on the right, and
all those who are in the Midst” (1PS 18-19). Those of the right are now clearly on
the outside of the gates of the Treasury.
Sabaoth the Good is still associated with the place of the right, but its position
outside of the Treasury may carry new implications for his placement there. He
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
provides the “power” which dwells in Jesus’ earthly form in place of a soul from the
archons. This “power,” we see later, is intertwined with the material body from the
Barbelo, and the spirit from the First Mystery. 28 His position in a middle realm
below the spaces of the First Mystery/Treasury of Light but above the aeons of the
left produces a power that lies between the base material and the pure spirit of the
higher realms. The tripartite division of material, soul and spirit is certainly a
familiar one in certain non-mainstream esoteric Christianities, and will receive
further discussion in Ch. 6. For now it is sufficient to note that the Savior’s receipt
of a soul from a “divine” figure below that of the highest God, a soul that is higher or
more powerful than that of the typical human being, here comes from a being in the
place of the right.
The place of those of the right receives more attention in 2PS, as more focus
is given to unfolding the supracosmic realms. The separation of the place of the right
from the Treasury is even more pronounced here, as Jesus states,
when I take you to the Land of the Light, which is the Treasury of the Light, and you
see the glory in which they are, the place of those of the right will count before you like
the light at the time of midday in the world of mankind, but without the sun. And when
you look upon the place of those of the right, it will become the size of a speck of dust
before you as a result of the great distance by which the Treasury of the Light is very
distant from it. (2PS 189)
This comes in the midst of a list of the realms through which the disciples will travel.
In all the realms of the left, each level when viewed from the following level appears
as the “darkness of darknesses.”
The Midst (
), when viewed from the
following realm of the place of those of the right, appears merely as “night in the
world of mankind” (2PS 188). And the Treasury of Light, when viewed from the
perspective of the inheritances, appears as bright as the light of the sun in the world.
Thus we see that there is a distinct separation between the Treasury and the place of
those of the right, but that each possesses at least some luminosity, in contrast to the
places of the left.
All of those who come forth from the five trees are said to be set in the place
of those of the right—including Jeu and Melchisedek, who were also previously
associated with the Treasury, as was Sabaoth the Good. Their role is still to organize
the gathering of light from the archons of the aeons and from the world—but their
28
See the several interpretations of Ps. 85, 1PS 121-125; 2PS 127-129.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
base of operations seems to have been reduced from within the Treasury, where they
were to return the light upon gathering, to a location outside of it. However, these
leaders are also promised future positions as “fellow-kings with the first <savior> of
the first voice of the Treasury of the Light” (2PS 194-195), one of the destinations
for those who receive certain of the mysteries of the First Mystery.
This still
demotes them to the level of the saved human souls, and they must remain at their
duties outside the Treasury until the dissolution of the All. In fact, the saved human
souls will surpass them: “In a word, the souls of mankind who will receive the
mysteries of the light will precede all the archons who have repented. And they will
precede all those of the place of the Midst, and those of the whole place of those of
the right” (2PS 198). As the Treasury at this stage is inferior to the inheritances, the
place of those of the right is inferior to the Treasury. The place of those of the right
is clearly an important, but lesser, realm. Later references confirm its position
relative to the Treasury and the superiority of the human soul that has received the
mysteries to its inhabitants.29
Schmidt regards both the place of the right and the Midst as almost level with
the Treasury of Light.30 This view makes sense from his position of considering 13PS as chronologically contemporary and connected, and the contents of these with
4PS and 2 Jeu as slotting together to form a reasonably consistent cosmology.
However, the view is flawed in that it does not take into account the changes in the
cosmology and the roles of the various beings between each of these texts. Thus, the
place of the right would necessarily seem to be almost equal to the Treasury in the
early books, wherein the place of the right is in fact the Treasury itself; in the later
texts this equivalence evaporates as the regions are separated, and the place of the
right “become[s] the size of a speck of dust before you as a result of the great
distance by which the Treasury of the Light is very distant from it.”31
29
2PS 199, 217, 248, 249. Interestingly, the last of these also states that human beings—the disciples
themselves—are made up of the dregs of the Treasury, the place of those of the right, the Midst, and
the invisible ones and the archons. Despite their origins as the dregs of all these, humanity strives
until it becomes pure light, superior to all of these things.
30
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 371.
31
2PS 189; see above.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
3.4 THE PLACE OF THE MIDST (mesos)
The last realm of the so-called Higher or Middle Light-World, the
undergoes a number of changes of both role and inhabitants.
, again
It begins as the
midpoint of the universe between the realms of the left and right, before later being
caught in the shuffle of increasingly stratified levels. The Greek µέσος is used for
this realm as opposed to the lower realm inhabited by evil archons, the Coptic
,
both of which are unhelpfully translated as the “Midst” or “Middle.”32 As these are
two very distinct realms, the appropriate term from the text will be used to
distinguish the two.
As with the place of the right, the
receives only one reference in the
Books of Jeu, in the same list as the former (2 Jeu 101-102). Its position in the list is
between the thirteenth aeon (or as described in the text, the place of the invisible god
and his receivers) and the Treasury of Light (or the place of the right). Based on the
outline of the aeons that follows in the text, this would appear to be connected with
the “fourteenth aeon” immediately following the thirteenth aeon. However, there are
actually two areas described after the thirteenth aeon and before the Treasury: the
fourteenth aeon, inhabited by the “second great invisible God” (2 Jeu 135); and a
space beyond it that holds the three “archons of the light” (2 Jeu 135) or “triplepowered gods which are outside the Treasury of the Light” (2 Jeu 136). There are
two seals given: the first one causes the powers of the second invisible God to
withdraw and allows passage to the next place with the triple-powered ones, where
the next seal is used.
This possibly reflects an alternative division of the realms found in the
fragment at 1 Jeu 82: there the 24 invisible emanations are listed as a part of the
thirteenth aeon, but also receive their own stanza apart from the praises about the
thirteenth aeon itself. 2 Jeu may thus reflect a confused interpretation of the need to
address the 24 invisible emanations of the thirteenth aeon and the higher entities of
the aeon itself. 33 This would explain the fourteenth aeon’s nondescript “second
32
The evil
region is generally referred to as the “way of the Midst,” but this still does not give
the reader a clear idea of the distinction between the two levels.
33
On the entities of the thirteenth aeon, see below.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
invisible God,” which appears nowhere else in the texts.
The address in the
thirteenth aeon only covers the 24 emanations; the invisible god still needs to be
dealt with, but the author assumed that there is only one seal per aeon, and thus
added a “fourteenth aeon” to cover the remaining part of the known ascent ritual or
prayer. The fact that in the list of realms given at 2 Jeu 101-102 the order appears to
go from the thirteenth aeon to the
suggests that the fourteenth aeon is a
clumsy addition, and not a part of the main system. The unnamed place housing the
three light-archons or triple-powered gods is the “
,” the natural step beyond
the thirteen aeons.
Jesus says that he “will give the mystery of the forgiveness of sins to these
three archons of the light which are the last of all the aeons, because they have
believed in the mystery of the Kingdom of the Light” (2 Jeu 137). These are the
only archontic beings to whom this promise is made in this text—the other repentant
archons from the sixth aeon are simply referred to as those of the “little
” (2
Jeu 129-130), and although they have a little goodness in them, there is no
immediate indication that they will be given the higher mysteries in the end. From
these two versions of the
, it is apparent that the term is being used to refer to
a location for repentant beings who have not been fully inducted or purified with the
highest mysteries—in particular the mystery of the forgiveness of sins, that highest
of mysteries which is required for access into the Treasury. The
itself is
located between the thirteen/fourteen aeons (or the place of the left, as they are later
called) and the Treasury of Light (or the place of the right, as it is called at this
point)—a true intermediate point between these two realms, the middle ground
between the unrepentant and the blessed mystery recipients.
In 4PSa, the three triple-powered gods are no longer the inhabitants of the
, but have been moved to the thirteenth aeon, where they remain throughout
the rest of the texts. The archons of the six aeons of Jabraoth have taken their place
as the repentant archons that believed in the mysteries of the light.
They are
rewarded by being moved from their place in the aeons to “a purified air in the
presence of the light of the sun, between the places of those of the
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and
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
between the places of the Invisible God” (4PSa 355-356). 34 The
here is
again the next major realm after the thirteenth aeon, and is related to beings that have
believed in the mysteries.
Jabraoth’s placement between the
thirteenth aeon suggests that the
and the
itself was moving away from a purgatorial
or waiting-realm before entry to the higher realms into its more accepted role from
the later texts as a place of judgment—the place of the Virgin of the Light, the judge
of souls. The Virgin of the Light is not explicitly stated to be located in the
in this text, but in 4PSb it states that a soul that has committed no sins but has not
received the mysteries is taken “to the Virgin of the Light, and she judges it and
places it in the presence of the Little Sabaoth, the Good, he of the
” (4PSb
382). This suggests that the Little Sabaoth is in the same realm or on the same
cosmological level as her. Furthermore, she is associated with the sun in its “true
form” in later passages, after planetary and physical heavenly bodies cease to play a
positive role. 35 The “light of the sun” in the
thus further suggests her
presence, and fits with the overall role and nature of the realm as described.36
The main aspect or figure associated with the
in both parts of 4PS,
however, is the Little Sabaoth, the Good, whose location there has already been
noted. Six out of the eleven references to the
are tied to the Little Sabaoth in
some way, usually in specifying where he is from, i.e. “he of the Midst.” The role of
the Little Sabaoth, the Good will be discussed in Ch. 4; for now it is sufficient to say
that as a figure of the
, his power is considered superior to those of all the
beings of the 13th aeon. Although four of the five planets operate with powers from
34
It should be noted that the archons of Jabraoth are also said to be placed “in a place of pure air” in
one of the fragments of the Bruce Codex (1 Jeu 82). This fragment shows close ties with certain
aspects of the Pistis Sophia, as will be discussed below.
35
See 2PS 186: “For the light of the sun in its true form is not in this place because its light passes
through a multitude of veils and places. But the light of the sun in its true form, which is in the place
of the Virgin of the Light, is lighted ten thousand times more than the 24 invisible ones and the great
invisible one and also the great triple-powered God…”
36
The association of the
with the ecliptic, or path of the sun, will be discussed in Ch. 6. The
is another term for the same concept, and also originally carried this role; see below.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
the 13th aeon, Zeus/Jupiter with the Little Sabaoth’s power rules them all with
goodness.37
There are two other main references. The first is to the “mystery of the
baptism of those of the
” (4PSa 358) in a list of the mysteries that the
disciples will receive, following those of the twelve aeons of the archons and the
thirteenth aeon and before that of the Treasury. It is the first mention of a baptism—
the aeons have only nondescript mysteries.
This suggests that receipt of this
baptism/mystery is the first step out of the evil of the aeons, to be followed by the
baptism of those of the right, which gives entry into the Treasury.
The other
occurrence is as an intermediate realm through which Zorokothora Melchisedek
bears the purified light of the archons on his way from the aeons to the Treasury
(4PSa 360).
Thus we see that in 4PSa and b, the
functions as a buffer between the
evil aeons/place of the left and the good Treasury/place of the right. Being just
above the waiting place for those archons that have believed in the mysteries of the
light, it likely houses the judge of souls, the Virgin of the Light, as well as the Little
Sabaoth the Good who plays a role in the freeing of souls from punishments and aids
them to be reborn in good bodies. In some ways it seems to have been upgraded
from its previous role in 2 Jeu, where its main function was as a waiting place before
entry to the Treasury.
In 3PS, there is only one reference to the
.
The context is a
discussion of the fate of souls rescued from the dragon of the outer darkness by
virtue of a believer performing the mystery of the Ineffable on his or her behalf. The
receivers of Melchisedek “will snatch [that soul] up from all the places in which it is.
And they will take it to the place of the
to the presence of the Virgin of the
Light” (3PS 325). Here is confirmation that the Virgin of the Light is certainly
located in the
37
at this point, determining the fate of souls.
4PSa 356-357: “And furthermore [Jeu] noticed that they needed a rudder in order to guide the world
with the aeons of the sphere so that it (the world) might not be destroyed by their wickedness. He
went into the
, he drew a power out of the Little Sabaoth, the Good, he of the
, he
bound it to Zeus because he is good, so that he should guide them with his goodness.”
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
In 1PS, the
is most important as the source of the heavenly powers
that dwell in the bodies of the disciples and John the Baptist in place of archontic
souls (1PS 12, 14). These powers originate from the Little Jao, the Good38 (for John
the Baptist) and the twelve saviors of the Treasury of Light, which Jesus takes from
the twelve “servers (
) which are in the
.” Furthermore, in 2PS
these twelve servers are further qualified as the servers of the Great Jao (2PS 196),
thus making all of the powers of the key human figures to be filtered through a Jaofigure in the
in one way or another.
By having the powers from the twelve saviors come through the
despite the saviors’ association with the Treasury, Jesus’ own superiority in every
aspect even in the flesh is maintained, as his own “power” derives from the Great
Sabaoth in the higher place of those of the right. It seems as if a tradition of twelve
saviors of the Treasury was being made to fit with a tradition of the superior nature
of the twelve disciples (despite the fact that here the women disciples are often
shown to be equal or superior to the twelve) in comparison to the rest of humanity,
without impinging on Jesus’ ultimate superiority to them all. These concepts are
absent from the earlier texts, wherein the disciples are as equally bound to the evil of
the archons as anyone else, and thus require the same mysteries and purifications as
the rest of humanity.39
38
An otherwise unknown figure. The Great Jao (the Good) appears twice elsewhere in this volume,
both times connected with the
, and once in 2 Jeu as a resident of the regions of the
Treasury—possessing a positive role in each instance. H. Odeberg (3 Enoch or the Hebrew Book of
Enoch [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1928], Appendix II, 188-192) and P. Alexander (“3
[Hebrew Apocalypse of] Enoch: A New Translation and Introduction,” 238, in The Old Testament
Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments, J.H. Charlesworth, ed. [London:
Darton, Longman & Todd, 1983], 223-315) believe these titles may correspond to the “greater
YHWH” and “lesser YHWH” found in certain Merkabah texts. If this is their origin, it is certainly
indirect, as their positions here are far removed from these Merkabah counterparts. F. Legge believes
that the title “the Little Jao the Good” is a clerical error, and conflates this figure with the Great Jao
(the Good). (See F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity Being Studies in Religious History
from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915), 149 and n.3).
Whether or not the Great and Little Jao are intended to be the same figure is not important for the
present discussion, as both are said to originate from the
and play positive roles.
39
See 3PS 337-339, where Jesus and Mary (Magdalene) explain the true meaning of Jesus’ words,
“He who does not leave father and mother and come and follow me is not worthy of me.” This refers
not to the earthly father and mother, but to the archontic “parents” that provided the sinful soul or
counterfeit spirit—to the disciples as well as the rest of humanity. However, note 1 Jeu 53 and 89,
where powers of the Treasury also become part of the disciples.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
The rest of the references to the
in 1/2PS are in lists of cosmological
levels, simply reinforcing its position between the thirteenth aeon and the place of
those of the right.40 The superiority of the human being who receives the mysteries
is also emphasized in a number of these passages. In these two texts, then, the main
importance of the
seems to be its role as a provider and filter for the good
“powers” that replaced the counterfeit spirit of the archons in the disciples and John
the Baptist. The Virgin of Light still appears in it with the Great Jao, but the focus
on the region as a place of judgment is gone.
Rather, its position within the
hierarchy of cosmological regions is emphasized, with little detail given as to what
happens within it.
In conclusion, the
begins quite logically as the interim space between
the places of evil (the aeons) and the places of good (the place of those of the right,
i.e. the Treasury of Light). It was a holding place for beings or souls that had
believed and received the mysteries, but had not yet received the mystery of the
forgiveness of sins. In 4PSa-3PS, it serves primarily as a place of judgment for
souls—a logical progression from a waiting place for the end of time to a judgment
place where the soul is immediately dealt with. It remains the sole, neutral stepping
stone between the evil archons and realms of good. By 1/2PS the
is largely
a relic of systems past, as it has lost its key purgatorial and judgmental functions. It
still acts as a filter between good and evil regions, but with the division of the place
of those of the right from the Treasury, and the addition of higher realms over the
Treasury, the term of the “Midst” no longer carries quite the same sense of being the
neutral zone between the heights of good and evil. Yes, it still remains between the
two extremes, but the cosmology as a whole becomes padded and its former
purposes obfuscated. Its importance becomes tied to interpretations of the nature of
certain Biblical figures such as the disciples and John the Baptist, as Christian
scriptural motifs are increasingly added in conjunction with explanations in fitting
with the group’s cosmology and mythology.
40
1PS 19; 2PS 188, 197, 198, 216, 231, 248, 249, 252.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
3.5 THE THIRTEENTH AEON
The thirteenth aeon begins the descent into materiality. Although it borders the
twelve aeons in each case, the thirteenth aeon is generally treated separately in the
texts. It immediately follows the
, and as such is the highest realm of the
place of the left. As with the other regions, however, its nature and the roles of its
inhabitants vary over the course of the texts; although generally described as jealous
or wicked, there are exceptions. We again begin with its brief discussion in 2 Jeu.
It appears first in the same list in which appear the places of the
and
the right (2 Jeu 101-102). Although it is not explicitly called the “thirteenth aeon”
here, it is identifiable by its position between the twelve aeons and the
, as
well as its inhabitant—the invisible god, which is always associated with the
thirteenth aeon. In the description of it in the list of aeons and their defenses, greater
detail is presented about its residents: in addition to the great invisible god, the great
virgin spirit and the 24 emanations of the invisible god also dwell within. These 24
emanations play a greater role in later texts, when Pistis Sophia becomes included in
their number, but here they are simply named with mystery names. They “will come
before [the disciples], wishing to take hold of you, as they envy you because of these
mysteries which you have received” (2 Jeu 134). These beings, like the believing
triple-powered gods in the
and the believing archons in the sixth aeon, are
jealous of the disciples and the mysteries they have received; however, unlike these
other envious beings, they are neither promised eventual salvation nor rejoice for the
disciples when the proper mysteries are presented.
The thirteenth aeon is also present in one of the fragments of the Bruce
Codex, which Schmidt appended to 1 Jeu.41 Here the 24 invisible emanations are
listed separately from the invisible god, but both are said to be set up in the thirteenth
aeon. In addition, the “three gods” (presumably the three triple-powered gods, which
later always appear in association with the thirteenth aeon) also appear within its
bounds. These factors reflect the system found in 1/2PS, as does the language of the
fragment as a whole.
41
Here all of the aeons, including the thirteenth, contain
1 Jeu 82.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
“members” of Jesus which have been scattered and which must be gathered and
restored to the light-realms. This is interesting as it shows a negative interpretation
of all of the aeons, the thirteenth included, as a realm from which trapped light
entities must be saved, a notion which is found in the later Pistis Sophia texts but not
elsewhere in the Bruce Codex. However, the lumping together of all thirteen aeons
(and indeed, the intermediary realm where the believing archons are placed), while
found in 2 Jeu, is nowhere in the Pistis Sophia. The fragment thus displays a unique
blend of traditions, and perhaps represents a stepping stone along the group’s
speculative cosmological path.
At any rate, within the Bruce Codex the thirteenth aeon is introduced as a
negative stop along the believer’s path of ascension. In 2 Jeu it is the home of
jealous beings who desire to hold back the enlightened disciples, and in the later
fragment these beings hold the scattered members of the Savior or Jesus, which must
be saved, gathered, and brought back up into the light.
In 4PSa the thirteenth aeon is rarely referenced directly, but its inhabitants
appear with some frequency. The invisible god, the Barbelo, and the triple-powered
gods all play some role over the course of the text. Most notable is the association of
powers from this realm with the planets—while Zeus rules them with the power of
the Little Sabaoth of the Midst, the remainder have powers from the “great invisible
one” (Cronos/Saturn); the triple-powered god, i:"
(Ares/Mars); another of the triple-powered gods, C
C
C
C : C
C
C
C (or βαινχωωωχ, a
name known from Greek magic; Hermes/Mercury); and the Pistis Sophia, daughter
of the Barbelo (Aphrodite/Venus) (4PSa 356).
It is interesting to note that the planet that works in conjunction with Zeus to
bring about positive results for human souls, Aphrodite, is associated with the Pistis
Sophia, the later heroine in the myth dominating 1/2PS. None of the other 23
invisible ones/emanations of the great invisible god/forefather are mentioned, and
indeed the Pistis Sophia is not associated with this larger number here. There is one
triple-powered god tied to Hermes, the only neutral planet, and the god associated
with wisdom. The remaining two beings here named are connected with the planets
bound to evil happenings.
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From this, the only being with actively positive
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
associations in the thirteenth aeon appears to be the Pistis Sophia, an idea supported
by her tale in the later texts. One of the triple-powered gods has a neutral status, and
another has a negative status,42 along with the invisible god. Furthermore, Jesus in
his incarnation receives wine and blood from the place of the Barbelo (4PSa 368),
which are necessary elements to purify the sins of humanity and signify the body of
mankind through him. However, when the “name which is within all names” and
which is superior to all mysteries is said to “the paralemptai of the wicked judgments
and their powers, and all their powers and the Barbelo also, and the invisible god and
the three triple-powered gods…they will all fall upon one another and be dissolved
and destroyed” (4PSa 373). The whole range of beings in the thirteenth aeon,
neutral, evil, or involved in Jesus’ incarnation, are destroyed through the highest
mysteries.
The only direct reference to the realm of the thirteenth aeon itself comes in a
list of realms for which the disciples will receive mysteries (4PSa 358). It is located
before the
, where the first of the baptisms takes place; thus it is outside the
places where even the lowest of true initiates would remain. While it serves a
purpose, it is a place destined for ultimate destruction.
4PSb belongs to a separate strand of tradition that did not include the
thirteenth aeon, despite the inclusion of one of the triple-powered ones. Βαινχωωωχ,
the triple-powered god associated with the neutral Hermes in 4PSa, is here referred
to in a positive sense: his receivers “with joy and gladness” take the soul of the
sinless man who has not received the mysteries, teach it of the creation of the world,
show it the places of correction without revenge being taken on it, and finally bring it
before the Virgin of the Light, the judge, such that it is recast into a righteous body
(4PSb 381-382). This same tradition of a single positive triple-powered god is also
found in 3PS, where he fulfills the same type of role (3PS 262-263). The connection
of these two texts is much closer than that between 4PSa and b, as is seen further by
their shared outline of the underworld, which is not matched in any of the other
texts.43 3PS clearly does not include the thirteenth aeon in its cosmological layout,
42
It can be extrapolated that the remaining triple-powered god is Authades, whose unique rebellion in
the thirteenth aeon will be discussed shortly.
43
See Sections 3.7-3.10; Table 3.4 below.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
as will be discussed shortly. As such, despite the fragmentary nature of 4PSb, it is
reasonable to conclude that its cosmology does not include the thirteenth aeon.
In 3PS, there are references to neither the thirteenth aeon itself nor its
inhabitants. The lone possible exception to this is the discussion of one of the “great
triple powers” who rescues righteous souls and brings them into the presence of the
Virgin of the Light (3PS 262), as mentioned above. The dwelling place of this being
is not mentioned, but as has been shown, actively positive beings are not associated
with the thirteenth aeon (with the single exception of the Pistis Sophia) and are not
permitted to move above and beyond their realm. This tradition seems closer to that
of 2 Jeu, wherein the triple-powered gods are inhabitants of the
, here
modified for the new role of the realm as a place of judgment and potential salvation.
That the invisible god, the Barbelo, and all of the invisible emanations elsewhere
associated with the thirteenth aeon are missing raises further suspicion. One might
argue that the nature of the text focuses on other aspects and does not require
mention of this region; however, the Heimarmene and its archons are discussed with
frequency, and the “place of the kingdom of Adamas” (the twelve aeons or
Heimarmene) is said to be “in the presence of the Virgin of the Light” (the
with no intervening area (3PS 333).
),
It would seem that in this tradition, the
thirteenth aeon is absent. Because in the theology of this text and 4PSb there is no
concept of Jesus’ body being derived in part from it (as is the case in 4PSa and 1PS),
Adamas is the head of evil, rather than the triple-power Authades (as in 1/2PS), and
the role of punishment realms below the Heimarmene/aeons takes the fore, the
thirteenth aeon has no purpose for this author.
This absence is dramatically contrasted with 1/2PS, where the thirteenth aeon
takes center stage in the mythic drama that occupies the bulk of these texts. This
importance stems largely from its role as the dwelling-place of both the good but
misguided Pistis Sophia and the evil and jealous Authades. Within the context of the
myth it is considered a place in the height (1PS 42, 110, 2PS 166), and as the “place
of righteousness” (1PS 51, 94, 106);44 however, at the same time it is the home to
44
Note that the term here translated as righteousness,
, can also mean “justice.” A.D.
DeConick presents it as “correction” (“Apostles as Archons: The Fight for Apostolic Authority and
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
evil and arrogant beings who wrongfully hoard their light-powers and happily charge
into Chaos to torment Pistis Sophia on account of her imprudent spiritual striving. It
is the place Pistis Sophia wished to leave for the superior realms, and human beings
who receive the mysteries will surpass it.
Outside of the context of the Pistis Sophia myth, which appears to operate
under a different cosmology from the surrounding text, the thirteenth aeon does
appear—but in a fairly limited manner. More often than not, it is not mentioned by
name, but is intimated by its inhabitants (i.e. the invisible ones, invisible forefather,
and/or triple powered ones) in lists, usually tied closely with the other aeons in the
hierarchical position before the
(1PS 2, 24; 2PS 186, 230, 248, 249, 252). It
would appear that generally speaking, the entities that make up its population are
more important in the author’s mind than the region itself.
In the instances in which it is named, it is counted amongst the glories and
mysteries of Jesus’ second garment, along with the those of the twelve aeons, the
, those of the right, the various ranks of the Treasury of the Light, and all the
ranks and emanations of the first two spaces of the First Mystery (1PS 18-19). The
glory of this garment, in fact, appears to encompass all that is below the highest
spaces of the Ineffable and above the Chaos.45 The glory of the First Mystery thus
incorporates the decidedly negative beings found in these lower aeons, in addition to
the more neutral beings found elsewhere. This inclusion of both good and evil in the
greater intention of the Ineffable One is made more explicit later, in a lengthy section
the Emergence of Gnosticism in the Tchacos Codex and Other Early Christian Literature,” 285, in The
Codex Judas Papers: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Tchacos Codex at Rice
University, Houston, Texas, March 13-16, 2008, A.D. DeConick, ed. [Leiden: Brill, 2009], 241-288;
The Thirteenth Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas Really Says [2007; revised edition London:
Continuum, 2009], 166); but this does not seem fully in fitting with the role of the realm. It is not a
place of punishment, even in the sense in which Sabaoth the Adamas is imprisoned in the
Heimarmene as punishment in 4PSa. Rather, it has more of a sense of a place where the beings—the
invisible forefather, two of the three triple-powered gods, and 24 invisible ones, except for Pistis
Sophia—follow their assigned roles unquestioningly, according to the will of the First Mystery.
Those beings that do not act within these strict bounds are punished, but outside of the thirteenth aeon
itself—first Pistis Sophia for striving beyond herself, although her actions were in accordance with the
ordinance of the First Mystery; then Authades and his minions, who are forbidden to return to the
thirteenth aeon after they go to Chaos out of jealousy and lust for power.
45
It is likely that none of the underworld realms besides the Chaos are a part of the overarching
cosmology of 1/2PS at all. The Chaos itself remains primarily within the Pistis Sophia myth as
equivalent to the material world; see below.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
of contrasts the mystery of the Ineffable will explain (2PS 208-217).46 In line with
this inclusion of good and evil, material and immaterial in the greater universal plan,
not all of what derives from this material realm is negative. The material body
supplied by the Barbelo (who dwells in the thirteenth aeon) for Jesus is apparently
regarded as positive, for the necessary role that he plays in the salvation of humanity
(1PS 13, 122, 128, 129).47
It should furthermore be noted that in ascending and recovering his garments,
although Jesus confuses and drains the powers of the sphere, the Heimarmene, and
the aeons—reducing the efficacy of the astrologers and magicians—a loophole is
provided to these purveyors of knowledge learned from the transgressing angels:
They will borrow from those who know the mysteries of the magic of the thirteenth
aeon. And when they call upon the mysteries of the magic of those who are in the
thirteenth aeon, they will fulfill them well and certainly because I (Jesus) have not taken
power from that place, according to the command of the First Mystery. (1PS 29)
Magic and astrology are generally accepted by the author as evil, as evidenced by the
ideas that they derive from “transgressing angels” (1PS 25, 27, 29), and that the
realms from which they originate are described as rebellious, as well as the fact that
Jesus actively goes to destroy their power in the world of men. However, the
existence of effective magic is not only not denied, but is rather actively affirmed by
Jesus, if only when derived from the thirteenth aeon. Clearly the thirteenth aeon is in
a league of its own, maintaining power and effectiveness in the human world with its
evil intentions even when the rest of fate has become confused and reduced in power.
As van der Vliet observes, the thirteenth aeon “borders on the world of light but it is
at the same time the scene of ongoing war over the fallen light or, in different terms,
over the human soul.”48 The deceptive aeonic powers struggle to maintain control
over human beings in the face of the saving mysteries Jesus presents.
46
The list is extensive and wide-ranging; for just a few examples, it purports to explain the reasons for
sin, purity, strength, weakness, poverty, wealth, mercilessness, mercy, the existence of cattle, reptiles,
birds, stone, plants, dryness, water, etc.
47
Also, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is said to have received “form which is in the Barbelo according to
the matter (
:
"! !
)” (1PS 116) in an apparently
positive sense.
48
J. van der Vliet, “Fate, Magic and Astrology in Pistis Sophia, Chaps 15-21,” 527, in The Wisdom of
Ancient Egypt: Jewish, Early Christian and Gnostic Essays in Honor of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, A.
Hilhorst and G.H. van Kooten, eds. (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 519-536. It should be noted that although
one of the gates of the Treasury of Light is said to open to the thirteenth aeon (2PS 169), suggesting
an immediately shared border between them, this is the only place in all of the texts where such
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
Returning to the role of the thirteenth aeon in relation to the Pistis Sophia fall
and redemption myth, as already stated, it is the original dwelling-place of this most
important of the 24 invisible ones emanated by the “great invisible forefather with
the two great triple-powered ones” (1PS 43). The designation of two great triplepowered ones here serves to highlight the evil nature of the third, disobedient one,
Authades. However, it must also be noted that none of these beings is granted
greater spiritual enlightenment, except for Pistis Sophia herself. Authades’ sin—
besides wishing to lord over the whole of the thirteenth aeon—is that he does not
give over his purified light or power to those beings who collect it and bring it to the
higher realms. The beings of the thirteenth aeon are to be perpetually kept in this
lower realm, forced to give up their light as soon as it is purified within them, and by
wrongfully keeping his light Authades strives to rule the aeon. He persecutes Pistis
Sophia even when she is still in her rightful place in the thirteenth aeon in order to
trick her into looking below (1PS 45); the archons in that aeon hate her; and even her
own partner amongst the 24 invisible ones takes no action to save her when she falls,
out of fear of her persecutors (1PS 87). These beings are unable to recognize Jesus
when he eventually arrives with their fallen sister, and they shake with agitation at
his presence, as do the archons of the twelve aeons as he passes through them. Pistis
Sophia herself sings his praises to her siblings, so that they might know the wonders
that he did for her (2PS 178-181). Despite being a place of “righteousness” and
Pistis Sophia’s rightful home, even within the context of the myth it is a place of fear
and ignorance, and is not a desirable place to be.
The thirteenth aeon is by all accounts a neutral place at best, a source of
matter, magic, and a variety of beings ranging from good-natured to actively evil.
From the beginning it is a home of jealousy, a provider of power to evil stars, and a
haven of ignorance. Despite the fact that in the myth where it plays its greatest role
it is thrice called the “place of righteousness,” even there it is far from being a place
proximity is intimated. Otherwise, there is always the assumption of the buffer zone of the
, if
not the place of those of the right as well. This passage occurs within the Pistis Sophia fall and
redemption myth, where the Heimarmene and the sphere, which feature heavily elsewhere in 1/2PS,
are also conspicuously missing. As noted elsewhere, this is likely due to the myth’s allegorical nature,
and does not bear on the more general cosmology of the group at this stage. H. Leisegang (Die
Gnosis [Leipzig: Alfred Kröner Verlag, 1924], 354, 362), concerned primarily with the Pistis Sophia
myth, goes so far as to suggest that the thirteenth aeon is the Midst, outside of the place of the left, to
afford Pistis Sophia a place outside of the material realm, but this is in no way supported by the text.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
of the light. Although arguments have been made for an overall positive view of this
realm and its inhabitants,49 evidence for such is extremely limited, as has here been
demonstrated. It is more in fitting with the negative thirteenth realm found in certain
other non-mainstream esoteric Christian texts, such as the Gospel of Judas (55,1011), 50 the Gospel of the Egyptians (III 63,17-18; 64,3-4; IV 75,5-6; 18-19), the
Apocalypse of Adam (82,10-19), or Zostrianos (4,25-28). While the emanations of
this realm are purified by necessity, according to the will of the Ineffable, humanity
will surpass them all and inherit the Kingdom of the Light (2PS 249-250).
3.6 THE TWELVE AEONS/HEIMARMENE/SPHERE
Although these three are separate in the outlines given by the previous scholars
above, they are closely connected throughout all of the texts, to the point where a
discussion of one requires reference to the others. By means of association with the
Heimarmene (“fate”), from the beginning the twelve aeons appear to be connected
with the zodiac, the band of stars thought to be so heavily involved in determining
man’s fate. Interestingly, in their initial appearance in 2 Jeu, they are once referred
to as the “divine” aeons, or those “of the gods” (
(
); 2 Jeu
101). This may reflect an early position of this astrally-focused religion that would
have viewed them as positive, divine regions, which here begins their descent to
what becomes the seat of evil in the world. While overall they are depicted as
regions to be avoided or passed through, even within 2 Jeu the nature of the twelve
aeons is ambiguous: some of them are depicted as home to evil entities that flee in
the face of truth, while others rejoice for the disciples and their display of divine
knowledge. In any case, there are still strong ties to the astral ascension theme found
in 1 Jeu, with the presentation of names, seals and ciphers to progress through the
guarded realms—here sometimes tied with more hostile entities, but the parallels are
clear nonetheless.
49
For example M. Meyer, “The Thirteenth Daimon: Judas & Sophia in the Gospel of Judas,”
Chapman University,
http://www.chapman.edu/images/userImages/mattmill/Page_11769/13th_daimon_FINAL-11408.pdf.
Accessed 31 August, 2011. For a refutation of his interpretation, see A.D. DeConick, The Thirteenth
Apostle, 165-168.
50
See also A.D. DeConick, The Thirteenth Apostle, 163-164.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
The system in 2 Jeu has the twelve aeons divided.
The first five are
described in language that suggests a wicked nature: upon being presented with the
appropriate name, seal and cipher, the archons within flee to the west and the left,
directions associated with evil (2 Jeu 127-129). Also, in the third and fourth aeons,
the names of Jaldabaoth and Samaelo, two names associated with evil particularly in
the Sethian system, have been included among the names of the archons.51 These
first five aeons, then, apparently represent a lower stratum with a negative nature.
The sixth aeon, on the other hand, is called “the little
,” and its archons have
a little goodness in them because they believed (2 Jeu 129).
When they are
presented with the appropriate information, they rejoice for the disciples and let them
pass. The archons in the remaining aeons are described with neutral language; they
do not flee to the west, but simply withdraw and allow the disciples to proceed.
The rulership of the twelve aeons in this text is not clear. Schmidt, believing
that the aeons, their nature and inhabitants remain largely the same throughout these
and the Pistis Sophia texts, argues that Sabaoth, the Adamas, must rule the aeons.52
He takes the reference to the myriad of gods in the twelfth aeon “who in the Treasury
of the Light are called archons; they are the great archons who rule over all the
aeons” (2 Jeu 133) as a reference to Sabaoth and his evil minions. Furthermore, he
acknowledges that the author of this text has no knowledge of the places of
punishment found in the later texts—the way of the Midst, the Chaos, Amente, or the
outer darkness—but suggests that instead, the whole of the twelve aeons themselves
are viewed as the places of punishment.53 It is true that this text shows no knowledge
of the above-mentioned punishment realms; and given that Sabaoth, the Adamas is
connected with the “great archon” earlier in the text (2 Jeu 100), and that his is the
epitome of the evil one must have removed to ascend to the heights (2 Jeu 115), one
might be tempted to agree.
However, there is significant evidence to suggest that such a leadership role
within the twelve aeons was not primary in this text. First and foremost, while
Sabaoth the Adamas is inevitably described as purely evil, the twelfth aeon that is
51
See discussion in Section 6.5.4.
Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 395.
53
Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 394-395.
52
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
elsewhere his abode is here described with neutral language—and overall, only the
first five aeons are depicted in negative terms. Second, the twelfth aeon is here said
to be the inhabitance of the invisible god, the Barbelo, and the unbegotten god, and
the “great archons” are said to serve them.
This is the only place where the
unbegotten one appears as a unique figure in the texts, but the first two of this triad
appear frequently and do not have an overtly negative nature.54 The neutral character
of both the twelfth aeon and its heads here would seem to discount to possibility of
Sabaoth as the leader of twelve evil aeons at this stage. Although the inclusion of the
Sethian triad here is likely a secondary addition to an original outline, the fact that
Sabaoth the Adamas is not mentioned in connection with the twelve aeons in any
way here seems to be deliberate.
Only when the triad is transferred to their
permanent home in the thirteenth aeon in later texts does Sabaoth take his place as
head of the twelve evil aeons.
Schmidt also notes the myth in 4PSa of the two brothers Sabaoth the sinner
and Jabraoth the repentant, who each ruled the archons of six of the aeons, but
acknowledges that the myth as it appears in that text cannot account for the division
between the upper and lower aeons here.55 Although Jabraoth’s name does appear in
the Bruce Codex, it is in the fragment discussed above,56 which shares terminology,
soteriology and cosmology most closely with 1/2PS and is not a part of either of the
Books of Jeu.57 Schmidt accepts that this fragment is not a part of the Books of Jeu,
and that it is in fact later than those texts; however his other conclusions on this 2 Jeu
passage are not convincing. He reconciles the difference in the numbers of good and
evil archons and the positioning of the good “little Midst” with an awkward proposal
of the inability to have a true middle aeon out of twelve, thus placing six on one side
of it and five on the other.58
It is true that the split nature of the twelve aeons in 2 Jeu is unique. Although
the myth of two brothers each ruling the archons of six of the aeons, one sinning and
54
4PSa does present the invisible god as the provider of power for one of the malefic planets, but
overall in the texts he does very little and is simply ignorant—in opposition to actively evil figures
such as Sabaoth the Adamas or Authades.
55
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 392.
56
Section 3.5, pp.82-83.
57
1 Jeu 82.
58
C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 392-393.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
one repentant, is found in the other texts, a few points stand out: first, the myth is not
explicitly present here; second, the number of good versus evil aeons is wrong
(instead of six and six, here it is five and seven); and finally, in those texts where the
myth does appear, the repentant archons are lifted forth from the aeonic realm and
the sinning archons are either imprisoned within or rule alone over the whole of the
twelve aeons. There is no evidence in any of the other texts of a sustained split in the
nature of the aeons as one must pass through them. The uniqueness of the five/seven
aeon split in 2 Jeu speaks of the group’s changing beliefs: in this early phase, the
division of the aeons into five evil and seven neutral realms suggests the concept of
five sublunar chaotic or abyss realms and seven planetary heavens shown in certain
other non-mainstream esoteric Christian texts, these in turn being associated with the
twelve sections of the zodiac.59 As these realms were the very beginning of one’s
ascension, having the starting point from earth of the sublunar realms and working
one’s way up through the planets to the starry realm would be logical.60
In 4PSa these elements are separated in a much clearer manner: the twelve
aeons exist independently, while the five evil sublunar realms are represented in the
five regions of the archons of the
,61 and the seven planets (notably the five
planets, with the two luminaries in their own category) enumerated separately with
their powers for both good and evil noted. Here the myth of Sabaoth and Jabraoth is
laid forth, and the followers of each are moved to different locations to receive their
just deserts (4PSa 355-356).62 Sabaoth the Adamas and his evil archons are bound
within the “sphere,” which is ruled by the planetary beings. Composing the sphere
are the twelve aeons of the zodiac. Through these aeons the planets move to rule
over the way of the
, which is described as existing in airy places “beneath the
sphere” (4PSa 359). This suggests that the sphere that imprisons Sabaoth and his
59
This will be discussed further in Ch. 6.
The concept of the sublunar realms being populated by various entities, especially including
negative or flawed ones, was common in later Hellenistic cosmology; see Philo, On Giants. 6-8; Eph.
2:2; Tertullian, Apology 22; see also A.D. DeConick, The Thirteenth Apostle, 53; R. A. Piper, “Jesus
and the Conflict of Powers in Q: Two Q Miracle Stories,” 323 n.20, in The Sayings Source Q and the
Historical Jesus A. Lindemann, ed. (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2001), 317-350.
61
Note that its role is slightly more complicated than this; see Section 3.9 below.
62
Contrary to C. Schmidt (Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 28) this story does not
describe the origin of the archontic world: both the aeons and the realms of the
already exist.
Here they are simply reorganized, with glimpses of both their new and original populations offered.
60
99
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
followers is the zodiac, and by virtue of being twelve signs in number is likely still to
be thought of as the twelve aeons. The way of the
, or the five evil sublunar
realms, are affected by the planetary influences. It is the beings of the way of the
that incite men to sin and then punish them—the planets over the
sphere/zodiac, in addition to keeping the evil Sabaoth the Adamas in line, can have
the positive effect of releasing souls from their torments and giving them another
chance to live a righteous life in the world.
In 4PSb the aeons are not enumerated, but the souls of the judged who are not
cast into the outer darkness are sent to the aeons of the sphere, where the receiver of
Sabaoth, the Adamas, gives it a cup of forgetfulness. The soul is then cast again into
the world in a body befitting its past sins, suggesting a connection between Sabaoth
the Adamas, these aeons of the sphere, and fate, the Heimarmene/zodiac. Here
Sabaoth the Adamas finally has a clear connection with the aeons/sphere, holding a
position of power rather than being imprisoned within it.
The 4PSb focus on the relationship between the aeons of the sphere and the
fate of the soul cast into a material body is continued in the connected 3PS. Rather
than the terms “sphere” or “twelve aeons,” here the Heimarmene “in the places of the
head of the aeons” fills the role of the seat of fate, as well as the place of Adamas.
Again the cup of forgetfulness is given to the ancient soul, here apparently by
Adamas himself.63 The five planets (again excluding the sun and moon from the
traditional seven) are now the five great archons of the Heimarmene, and any traces
of a positive nature associated with them are gone.
The entire role of the
Heimarmene and its archons is to bind the soul to the counterfeit spirit which
compels men to sin, and to set the time and manner of death. 64 Interestingly, in
addition to kneading the soul out of the sweat of the archons, the five great archons
along with the archons of the discs of the sun and moon breathe into the soul—in the
process imparting some of the Savior’s power that was cast into the mixture (3PS
335). It is this higher power which impels the soul to seek after the light despite the
bonds of the Heimarmene. Although the origin of the first man at the hands of the
63
3PS 334: “
C
:
! ! !
!
!
•
!
! !
!
!
…”
64
On the counterfeit spirit and its relationship to the myth of ApJohn, see Section 6.5.5.
100
! !
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
evil world-creator and his minions, so popular in certain other non-mainstream
esoteric Christian texts, is missing here, the twist on the Genesis story is still thus
subtly present in this inbreathing of light-power into each soul by the evil archons of
fate.
When one recites the mysteries to release the bonds of the archons of the
Heimarmene in their presence, one is then freed of the counterfeit spirit, and can
enter the Kingdom of Light. The Savior came to the world to impart these mysteries,
“For without mysteries no one will go to the Kingdom of the Light, either righteous
or sinners” (3PS 346). It is primarily the archons of the Heimarmene—and by virtue
of being their king, the Adamas—who are responsible for sins and fate, but purely
righteous living is not sufficient for salvation. Reincarnation is still a possibility for
one to have a second chance to receive the mysteries, but with the demonization of
the planets, a positive reincarnation is now entirely dependent upon the judgment of
the Virgin of Light.
In 1/2PS these lower ranks finally multiply. Here we find the clear separation
of the sphere, the Heimarmene, and the twelve aeons of the Adamas—however, they
are directly tied to each other, and despite the separation of space, they still fulfill
essentially the same functions. Adamas and his tyrants rule all three. The most
striking fact is that in the first two, all the beings within them abandon their ranks
and prostrate themselves before Jesus (1PS 21-22). Only in the twelve aeons do the
inhabitants rebel and wage war against the light.65 The result of this futile battle is
Jesus taking a third of their power and turning the Heimarmene and the sphere—
those regions under the control of the aeons that capitulated to Jesus and did not
struggle—such that their magic in the world of men is less powerful.66
The Heimarmene and sphere retain the role of forming souls to go into the
world out of the matter of the archons—the breath, tears and sweat (1PS 35-36).
However, instead of keeping power imprisoned in the world in the souls of men, they
(along with the archons of the aeons) choose to preserve their power by consuming
their own matter instead of creating souls, thus extending the time needed to reach
65
In the last version of this episode (1PS 40-41), most of the beings of the aeons also worship him—it
is only the “tyrants” who are made powerless.
66
There are four versions of this struggle: 1PS 24-25, 26, 37-39, 40-41.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
the number of perfect souls (1PS 36-37). In this version of the story, all three
regions thus act in tandem, furthering their direct connection. In fact, in the latest
outlines of the regions in 2PS, one or the other of the Heimarmene and the sphere is
left out, suggesting that the set of three was not embraced as a necessity.67
As observed previously, the myth of Pistis Sophia herself operates under a
different cosmology from the surrounding text. Both the sphere and the Heimarmene
are missing from her story, and the twelve aeons border directly on the Chaos below.
Authades of the thirteenth aeon is her main adversary, but Adamas from the twelfth
also plays a role in persecuting her—notably only in the section following the initial
thirteen repentances, which is likely a secondary addition.68 His role as adversary in
this extra section seems almost like an afterthought; indeed, immediately before the
section where he takes an active role, the text first says that when the time comes for
her next persecution, “the Authades and all his archons” will oppress her—and only
on the next page of the manuscript is the antagonist’s name changed to Adamas (2PS
170).
In the context of the fall and redemption story the aeons have no role but as
realms through which Pistis Sophia descends and eventually ascends, which are full
of antagonistic beings that are jealous of her aspirations for the realm of light. There
is one reference that might suggest their typical role as seat of the archons which
bind one to fate, but it is highly indirect (2PS 155).69
In sum, the twelve aeons, the Heimarmene, and the sphere, are inextricably
linked, even in those texts that depict them as separate regions. In the early stages
there appears to be a connection between the twelve aeons and the five abysses/seven
planetary regions depicted in certain other non-mainstream esoteric Christian texts,
but these are separated early on. They quickly take on their primary role as the
67
2PS 187-188: the sphere is lacking; 214: the Heimarmene is missing.
He is mentioned in one instance in the first section while she is still in the Chaos, wherein he sends
his power down from the twelve aeons and throws the Pistis Sophia down. (2PS 138) This appears to
be present purely to fulfill one of the verses in the accompanying psalm, that one shall not fear “a
demonic blow at midday” (Ps. 91:6). In the interpretation James explains that the twelfth aeon is the
hour of midday. See also Section 4.5.
69
“…and thou didst give to me the authority that I should be released from the bonds of the
emanations of the Adamas” (
+
: !
! ! !
!
!
)& If this whole myth is indeed an allegory for the soul’s plight in
the world, then the physical bonds with which she is afflicted in the Chaos could be analogous to the
invisible bonds of fate in the world.
68
102
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
regions of the zodiac, home of the archons in charge of the fate of human beings and
forming their souls. The evil Sabaoth, the Adamas, has his home within these
regions, with the exception of in 2 Jeu—that lone early text which gives the aeons a
split nature. Elsewhere they are viewed exclusively as either a prison for evil or as
evil realms themselves, making the Adamas’ presence fitting.
3.7 AMENTE
Amente, or the western place, appears only in 4PSb and 3PS, which form a set in
terms of their overall cosmology and themes. These two texts have the greatest focus
on punishments of sinners, as well as the most complex system of underworlds or
punishment realms. Amente here forms the first and least harsh of these, followed
by the Chaos, the
, and the outer darkness.70
The term “Amente” is from the Egyptian term for the place of the dead, the
western place where the sun set, which in the ancient Egyptian religion was
considered a positive destination for the soul.
Here, in line with the Greek
interpretation of the west as an evil direction, it has been transformed into a place of
punishment for sinning souls rather than a place of eternal life or rest. The head of
this region is called Ariel, and is described in 3PS as having a dog-head—
reminiscent of Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the underworld or judgment in
Egyptian religion.71 Thus the region is clearly adopted from its Egyptian context,
transformed in the process into a fiery realm of torture. The only other information
given is that it has rivers, seas, and pits of fire (3PS 256-258), and that Ariel has two
receivers, Abiut and Charmon (4PSb 375), which take certain souls for three days,
teaching them of the creation of the world before subjecting them to their rightful
punishments. Although there is no direct correspondence between the punishments
associated with Amente in 4PSb and 3PS, it seems that only lesser sinners are first
brought here: in 4PSb those who have murdered or blasphemed (considered
extremely serious sins) are first brought to the Chaos, a far worse realm. Its location
and role within 3PS is highly ambiguous: although it is included in the general lists
70
3PS 321-322 gives an explicit order for these realms and their relative harshness. This order is
maintained wherever they appear in these two texts, although in certain cases some of the realms may
be skipped based on the nature of the sin/punishment required.
71
See also Section 6.1.6.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
of punishment places, it is not included in the accounts of souls being taken up after
death—while both the Chaos and the
are en route to the soul’s ultimate
judgment and fate.
It should be noted that at one point in 3PS there is a reference to “Amente of
the Chaos” ( ! !
!
C
; 3PS 284). This presumably refers to the
western region of the Chaos, and not to the discrete region “Amente,” as the passage
continues with references to the Chaos only. 1/2PS also features the term Amente
twice (1PS 89; 2PS 163), but in both instances they are in the Psalm counterparts of
Pistis Sophia’s repentances—it serves as the symbol for the Chaos, and is simply the
Egyptian translation of the term “Sheol” in the Psalms.
Amente in the Jeuian context is thus perhaps best summarized as a minor
realm of punishment, adopted and adapted from Egyptian tradition. It is included in
the overall cosmology for a relatively brief period of time based on the textual
evidence remaining, as its role and origin from a Jeuian perspective are obscure, and
its functions become obsolete with changing views of punishment and salvation.
3.8 THE CHAOS
The Chaos also appears first and foremost in 4PSb and 3PS. It is the first stop of the
more serious sinners (apart from those who consume sperm and menstrual blood,
who are doomed directly to the outer darkness). In 3PS it is forbidden to lead a soul
that has received the mysteries to the Chaos(es), although it does travel along the
path of the
(3PS 289). This realm is the home of Jaldabaoth, the primary
villain and world-creator of several non-mainstream esoteric Christian groups. In
4PSb he rules over 49 demons, which flagellate the souls of sinners with fiery
scourges. In 3PS he is described as having a lion-face, as is typical of depictions of
this figure.72 Interestingly, there is one reference in 4PSb to a region of Chaos as the
home of Persephone (4PSb 377). In Greek mythology she is considered the goddess
of the underworld; here she is tied to the punishing of the sinful dead. Unfortunately
72
See Origen, Cels. 6.31, HypArch 94,16-17, OrigWorld 100,1-6; also 1PS 46; see additionally T.
Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the
Ophite Evidence (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 106-128; H.M. Jackson, The Lion Becomes Man: The Gnostic
Leontomorphic Creator and the Platonic Tradition (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985).
104
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
the text is fragmentary and there is no way of knowing if further explanation of her
role or region of Chaos is given.73
Similar to Amente, the Chaos is described as having rivers of fire and seas of
fire, sulphur and pitch (3PS 258-259), and it is primarily involved in the punishment
of souls. It is not involved in the creation of bodies or souls or the affairs of fate, as
might be expected from Jaldabaoth’s presence.
The Chaos does play a role in 1/2PS, but that role is primarily in the myth of
Pistis Sophia, which has a different cosmological structure from the surrounding text.
Here it is the realm in which Pistis Sophia becomes trapped, tormented by dark
demons that steal her light-power. It appears to directly border on the twelve aeons,
as Pistis Sophia arrives in it directly from her aeonic descent. Although Jaldabaoth is
present there, the focus of power among the evil ones is much more on Authades
who dwells in the thirteenth aeon and his own lion-faced power. Furthermore, there
is the suggestion that the Chaos is in fact the world of men, for Jesus explains that
upon her restoration to the thirteenth aeon, she wished to tell the invisible ones there
“the wonders which I [Jesus] had done for her on the earth of mankind below, until I
saved her” (2PS 178). If the story is to be taken literally, it is possible that these
wonders were indirectly beneficial to her, as she spent a great deal of time waiting
for her final salvation just below the thirteenth aeon. However, as it is more likely
that the story is rather meant to serve as a form of allegory for the experience of the
soul of the human believer on earth, the Chaos serves as a parallel for Earth—a place
of torment for a fallen spirit from above.
The only place the Chaos appears outside of the Pistis Sophia myth is in 2PS
in an exposition of knowledge possessed by the mystery of the Ineffable, primarily
related to why things exist. This takes the form of a series of antitheses—why
darkness exists, and why light, why punishment of sinners exists, and why repose in
the Kingdom of Light, etc.
Here the Chaos appears in the plural—as it does
occasionally in 3PS—in juxtaposition with the Treasury of Light (2PS 208).
73
It is also interesting that 4PSa and b are the only texts to preserve elements of Greek mythology, in
the form of the planet names, this single appearance of Persephone, and one reference to Adonis as an
underworld being (4PSb 377)—even 3PS, with its strong ties to 4PSb, lacks these elements, having
reduced the planets to nameless archons. This may suggest a period of interest in the Greek mysteries
and mythology in the Jeuians’ development, which was quickly dissolved into the prevailing mythos
and language of the group.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
Unfortunately this reference tells one little of the position or role of these Chaoses
beyond their association with darkness as opposed to light.
The Chaos thus plays a role primarily as a place of punishment for sinful
souls. It is introduced in 4PSb, at the height of the group’s interest in sins and their
repercussions; and it fades into the background as interest in the soul’s plight in the
world and the heights to which it could ascend takes the fore in 1/2PS. Although it is
associated with Jaldabaoth, who in other non-mainstream esoteric Christian
traditions dwells in the cosmic spheres and is considered the creator of the world,
humanity, and fate, here all of these actions are attributed to other entities. Even in
its role as punishment-realm, it is neither the least nor worst to which a soul could be
subject, sandwiched as it is by Amente and the
. Its later importance rests in
its mythic equivalence to the material world for the soul trapped therein, and in its
opposition to the realm of light. It is important enough that it remains in these
aspects, even after the
and Amente have been rendered obsolete and faded
from the cosmic structure.
3.9 THE mHte
The
has its first, rather innocuous appearance in 1 Jeu. In explaining the
organization of the Fatherhoods and treasuries, Jesus tells his disciples that “five
ranks of Fatherhood are in the
, which are the places of the God who is in the
midst of all” (1 Jeu 83). The presence of the
as a distinct region here appears
to have gone undetected by previous translators, presumably because 1) typically the
is part of the phrase “the way of the
”(
!
),74 and 2) in
the later texts it is uniformly a realm of evil and punishment, concepts absent from its
presence here among the heights of the treasuries and serving as the dwelling place
of a God. These discrepancies are explained, however, by the theological shifts that
occur between the composition of this text and its later cousins. Here the treasuries
represent the starry sky, and the five ranks of Fatherhood in the
74
Note however that this is not always the case; see 4PSa 355, 3PS 285, 341.
106
through the
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
middle of them all are the five planets, moving through the ecliptic.75 The
with its planetary ranks is at this time the epitome of celestial power and glory.
By its next appearance in 4PSa, a dramatic change has taken place in the view
of the divine realm. No longer are the stars the final destination of the pious or the
home of the gods; rather, the sphere of fate or the zodiac is a prison for the sinful.
The
here has something of a dual nature. As it was viewed as the realm of the
planets in 1 Jeu, it maintains the commonly held astrological view of the power of
the planets to attribute personality traits and faults; at the same time, it is located
beneath the sphere of stars and is ruled by a set of planetary beings, suggesting a role
as the evil sublunar realms found in 2 Jeu. 76 Thus two conflicting versions of
planetary lore are found here: the Greek interpretation of the five planets and their
natures, moving through the zodiac and triggering actions in the divine and celestial
being shifted to rulership of the five
spheres; and the five planets of the
sublunar realms.
These five rulers are named, and each has dominion over a
different type of sin—just as the planets were each thought to control different
personality traits. In this case it serves a further dual role as cause of human sin and
realm of punishment for those selfsame sins. Each of the places within is described
in terms of smoke, fire, and perishing.
Interestingly, one of the fragments of the Bruce Codex lists the same names
of the great archons of the way of the
. In that fragment, the final archon—
Jacthanabas—is described as “the successor (
C
darkness.”77 This suggests a connection between the
) of the archon of the outer
and the outer darkness
in that work. This connection is possible within 4PSa as well, as the
and the
outer darkness are the only places of punishment referred to in that text. This
fragment also supports the possibility that the five lower aeons of 2 Jeu are later
transformed into the ways of the
: in both cases, the soul presents the beings
75
This will be discussed further in the discussion of astrology, Section 6.2.
They are also described in 4PSa as being in “airy places” beneath the sphere, a description also used
to describe the sublunar realm in Hellenistic cosmology.
77
2 Jeu 141.
76
107
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
therein with a mystery in the form of specific power words which causes fear in
them.
In 4PSb the association with the planets is entirely removed and even the
connection with the sublunar realms is not clear; it becomes simply a realm of
punishment. Unlike the 49 demons of Jaldabaoth, no specific number of archons is
given at this point: “each one” of the archons deals out unspecified punishment
(related to smoke and fire; 4PSb 378, 382) for a period of time. Divorced from its
astrological significance, it is but one of many punishment realms adopted by this
author, without explanation of what makes its residents evil or what hold it has over
the souls it torments as is given in the previous text.
3PS takes a similar position. The
is not even included in the list of
punishment realms that occupies several pages of its beginning. Its astrological ties
are absent, with the “five great archons” once again referring to the planets but now
being linked to the Heimarmene. Judgment is associated with it (3PS 263, 285, 321),
but judgment also is connected with all of the punishment realms in this text. It is
connected to destiny, but it is unclear whether it is the beings of the
or those
of the Heimarmene that bind the destiny to the soul.78 This confusion could be a
remnant of moving the planetary aspects from the
to the Heimarmene. The
only clear trace of its earlier position is one reference to Jacthanabas (3PS 263)—but
even this is phrased in such a way that he could be located beyond the way of the
, as a soul is taken to his place after being taken to the way of the
.
Despite all of the ambiguity in its origin or nature, and perhaps as a holdover
from its previous role, its position as a fearful destination is still strong in 3PS. Its
fire is nine times fiercer than that of Chaos, and is surpassed in fierceness only by the
dragon of the outer darkness (3PS 322).79
The
thus begins as the ecliptic, the path of the sun and the planets, and
part of the height of existence. With the introduction of Greek planetary ideas and a
78
3PS 287 suggests it is the
, but 3PS 341 is less clear.
C. Schmidt, determining that the “underworld” realms are consistent through the texts and that the
is not one of them but rather is above, overlooks its appearance in this passage where it is
clearly included among the punishment realms (as well as its inclusion as one of the lower punishment
realms in 4PSb). See his underworld discussion, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache, 413-420.
79
108
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
concept of wicked sublunar regions, the
becomes conflated with the latter.
When astrology and the stars come to be viewed as chains binding the soul and
dragging it into sin, the five great archons are moved back into a planetary position
within the Heimarmene/zodiac, but the
remains as a pure punishment realm
without clear cosmological placement. As focus on individual morality, sin, and the
complex system of punishments resulting for every possible situation fade in favor of
focus on the salvation of the soul, Jesus’ role, and the destiny of the believing
recipients of the mysteries, the
too is phased out of the cosmogony.
3.10 THE OUTER DARKNESS
This region serves as a place of severe punishment and annihilation—although its
placement and the regulations of entry (and exit) vary. It first appears in a single
instance in 4PSa, in a description of what happens when one recites the name that is
superior to all names after death:
…When he says it to the demons and the receivers of the outer darkness, with their
archons and their powers (exousiai) and their powers (dunameis), they will all be
destroyed and their flame will burn…And when that name is said to the paralemptai of
the wicked judgments and their powers (exousiai), and all their powers and the Barbelo
also, and the invisible god and the three triple-powered gods…they will fall upon one
another and be dissolved and destroyed. (4PSa 373)
After the very detailed explanation of the division in the aeons, the imprisonment of
the wicked archons, and the ways and means of the archons of the
, this
sudden, brief reference to the outer darkness is somewhat jolting. It is especially
intriguing that the other entities listed as doomed to destruction with the recitation of
this name do not have their regions specified—the receivers of the wicked judgments
are most likely the archons of the aeons, and the Barbelo, the invisible god, and the
three triple-powered gods all belong to the thirteenth aeon. In the cosmogonic layout
of 4PSa, this leaves one lower region as established earlier in the text: the
would be odd to destroy all of the surrounding areas, but to leave the
Given the potential connection between the
. It
standing.
and the outer darkness found in
the Bruce Codex fragment, it is possible that at this stage these two regions are one
and the same. In this way everything beyond the border of the
(with the
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
potential exception of the archons who believed with Jabraoth, which were moved to
a space between the thirteenth aeon and the
) is destroyed by the power of the
most superior name.
In 4PSb the outer darkness is represented in its own right as the ultimate
destination of punishment for the worst sinners. The sins worthy of being cast there
are such that the soul is given no chance to be reincarnated in the world after its
punishments, instead being destroyed at the final judgment. The text is incomplete
so the full list of sins with their accompanying repercussions is uncertain, but the
three causes of being sentenced to the outer darkness found here—murder,
blasphemy, and pederasty—are in line with the fuller lists of outer darkness-worthy
sins found in 3PS. The outer darkness is in these cases the final stop in a series of
the punishment realms through which the sinful soul must travel. The only sin
discussed which is not on those later lists (consuming semen and menstrual blood in
worship) is a special case leading to instant transport to the outer darkness, with no
stops in the Chaos or other realms (4PSb 381).80
Descriptions of the realm itself in this text are minimal. It is associated with
a dragon-faced archon (4PSb 380), as is its hallmark in 3PS. It is said to be a “place
in which there is no pity, nor is there light. But there is weeping and gnashing of
teeth” (4PSb 381).81 Finally, the time of its dissolution is described as “when the
darkness of the
will be lifted” (4PSb 377). While the two regions are clearly
distinct in this text, this continues the suggestion of a connection or border between
the outer darkness and the
.
The outer darkness sees its greatest developments in 3PS.
Here it is
described in great detail:
The outer darkness is a great dragon whose tail is in its mouth, and it is outside the
whole world, and it surrounds the whole world. And there is a great number of places
of judgment within it, and it has twelve chambers of severe punishments, and an archon
is in every chamber and the faces of the archons are different from one another. (3PS
317)
After describing the archons in each of the chambers, it goes on to explain,
80
This apparently refers to a particular sect that was a threat to this group, as 2 Jeu also presents this
specific, rather unusual practice as the most heinous of sins. This group, or one with similar practices,
was evidently known to Epiphanius as well (Pan 26.4.5-5.1). The fact that 3PS makes no mention of it
suggests that perhaps by that point the sect in question was no longer a threat.
81
See Mt. 8:12, 22:13, 25:30; also Mt. 13:42, 50
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
…each of them has a name according to the hour. And each one of them changes his
face according to the hour. And furthermore, to each of these twelve chambers, there is
a door opening to the height…And there is an angel of the height watching at each of
the doors of the chambers, whom Jeu…has placed to keep watch over the dragon, so
that it does not rebel, together with all the archons of its chambers which are within it.
(3PS 319)
Although there is only one entry point, the “mouth of the tail” (!
!
)
of the dragon (3PS 320), there are several escape points; each of these doors can be
opened if a soul within it recites the name of one of the archons: “at the time when
they shall say it, the whole dragon will be shaken and will be exceedingly agitated.
And the door of the chamber in which are the souls of those men opens upwards”
(3PS 329). Indeed, although the names of the archons are always changing with the
hours, “the twelve [names] are within one another, so that he who says one of the
names says all of the names” (3PS 320). This is a startling development in light of
the conviction elsewhere that the outer darkness is the one place from which there is
no hope of escape. Furthermore, a soul can also be freed if one of the living
performs the mystery of the Ineffable and prays for that soul (3PS 323). Thus,
despite the fact that the fires and judgments within it are “seventy times fiercer” than
those of the
(3PS 322), it is not the completely hopeless pit of destruction for
souls it was previously.
The outer darkness surrounds the world, with the light of the sun covering the
dragon’s darkness by day (3PS 332). At night, however, its darkness enters the
world as smoke, so close to this world that it can almost be touched. This suggests
its location in the sublunar realm, elsewhere associated with terrifying abysses,
fallenness and materiality.82 However, like Amente, it is not included as a realm on
the initial journey of the soul on the way to its judgment. It remains reserved for the
worst sins (despite the potentials for another chance this text posits).
82
As a point of interest, there are a number of references to souls in the midst (
) of the dragon
(3PS 327, 329). While this may simply refer to the space within the dragon, given the connection
between the
and the outer darkness in previous texts, it is possible that the specific region of
the
is here being associated with the dragon. Considering the dragon’s proximity to earth, and
the earlier ties between the
and the sublunar realms, this may be more than a simple turn of
phrase.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
For the record, there are two lists of sins that are worthy of punishment in the
outer darkness found in this text. The first, found after lists of sins earning one
punishment in the Amente or Chaos, consists of:
*killing
*mercilessness
*impiety
*godlessness
*sorceries
*blasphemy
*accepting erroneous teachings
*teaching erroneous teachings (3PS 259)
The second occurs as a “reassurance” to the disciples after the description of the
dragon and its contents that the only souls sent there are those of these particular
types of sinners:
*murderers
*slanderers
*poisoners
*defiled men
*the impious
*pederasts
*the godless
*adulterers
*those who are in erroneous teachings
*those who teach errors (3PS 320)
Although there are some differences between the two groups, there is a great deal of
overlap. Primarily, the second group adds sexual sins as being worthy of the outer
darkness, while overall the focus is on those sins that dishonor God or result in
human death. Interestingly, the first section allots the sins of slander and adultery to
the realm of Chaos, suggesting two sources have come from different authors who
considered the weight of these sins differently.83
The outer darkness appears only once each in 1 and 2PS. The first is in a
prayer of Pistis Sophia, that her tormenter Authades might have the archon of the
outer darkness at his right hand always (1PS 105). The second is Mary Magdalene
justifying her questions so that she and her brothers might preach to men and save
them from the hands of the receivers of the outer darkness (2PS 201). Although the
focus of these two texts is not on punishments, as in the previous two, it is striking
that this is the only reference to a realm of punishment besides the Chaos—which
itself is primarily found in the Pistis Sophia myth, and is thus not directly parallel to
the overall cosmogony. Even in the long list of juxtapositions in 2PS, the outer
darkness does not appear, although the Chaos and “judgments” do. These lists of
knowledge are attempts to demonstrate a reason for everything in the universe. The
83
The exclusion of the
from the initial section listing sins by the punishment-realm they merit
also suggests that multiple sources were used in compiling this text.
112
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
lack of even passing mentions of the outer darkness and other punishment realms
suggests that not only are these texts not concerned with places of punishment, but
that to this author or compiler they were not in fact regarded as concerns. Evil and
tyranny have been transferred wholly to the archons of the aeons, and the myriad
different levels of punishments have been rendered obsolete.
In those texts where it appears, the outer darkness is destined for destruction
with all of its inhabitants at the end of time. Where it is clearly differentiated as a
punishment realm, it is the destination of the very worst sinners, and the place where
annihilation of the soul happens rather than reincarnation. However, while originally
it was a place that offered no hope to those damned to its punishments, in 3PS a
number of “escape clauses” are provided. Thus no soul was irrevocably abandoned
to its tortures—certainly not completely eliminating, but rather reducing its fearsome
nature by virtue of the possibility of liberation and another chance given a little
knowledge or the kindness of a true believer. In the end it, too, fades into obscurity,
as evil and destruction become primarily the purview of the archons of the aeons.
3.11 SUMMARY: COSMOLOGY BY TEXT
3.11.1
1 Jeu
This earliest of the texts presently remaining from the Jeuian group primarily
discusses the sixty Treasuries of Light, the epitome of existence to which a human
soul can attain. The layout and content of the description of the treasuries reflects
traditional Egyptian religious influence, and provides a detailed map of the beyond
for the ascending soul to navigate the various regions. In this case the treasuries
most likely represent the starry sphere, based on a notion of the soul’s final resting
place among the stars. The only other region that appears in this text, the
,
likely represents the ecliptic with the five “ranks” or planets moving through it. This
region is described as the “places of the God who is in the midst of the All,” most
likely representing Jeu as a sun deity—the sun was of great importance in Egyptian
religious thought as well as determining the ecliptic or “middle;” Jeu is responsible
for the emanation and organization of all the contents of the treasuries, and all of the
heads of these regions also bear his name.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
There is a lack of any mention of the twelve aeons/Heimarmene, or of any
places of punishment.
While this could simply be a result of the text being
fragmentary, given the nature of the remaining text this seems unlikely. Rather, at
this point the author had no notion of the regions of the stars and planets as
representing pitfalls. Focus was instead on providing the believer with the detailed
knowledge needed to ascend. Although living a good life was considered important,
it was not the primary concern, and discussion of the wicked judgments only came to
be considered vital later—perhaps in the light of both increasing suspicion of the
astral deities and their role in human nature, and of increasing pressure from outside
groups or sects, resulting in a more rigid outline of proper worship and behavior.
3.11.2
2 Jeu
Already here there is a dramatic change in the cosmological outlook. While the
Treasury of Light is still the ultimate destination of the true disciple, it is now
described as a single region (or perhaps a duality). There is great interest in the
various ranks of the Treasury, although the order and number of these ranks vary,
and different lists of them pepper the text. It is likely that the author has compiled
these variations from a number of sources, and has endeavored to include them all
despite some inconsistency between them. Of greater immediate concern in this text,
however, is passage through the aeons to reach the Treasury: the regions one must
traverse are listed as the twelve divine aeons, the place of the invisible God (the
thirteenth aeon), the
, and finally the place of the right (the Treasury of
Light). Again there is a distinct lack of regions explicitly dedicated to punishment—
however, the first five aeons are described as being home to archons who fear the
divine and flee when presented with the mysteries. Interestingly, Jaldabaoth is said
to dwell in the third aeon, who in all other texts in this group is placed within the
Chaos punishment realm. This could suggest that although all of the aeons were
meant to be surpassed, the first five aeons themselves served as places of punishment
for the uninitiated at this point. The place of the three triple-powered gods or
archons—the
—is explicitly described as being without places of correction
(2 Jeu 137), suggesting the possibility that all of the preceding aeons have a
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
punishment aspect. Although one is admonished to live without sin, again the goal
appears to be fidelity to the group and receiving the mysteries to be included in the
Kingdom of Light, lack of which causes one to be stuck in these outer places.
The twelve aeons as a whole may represent the five sublunar and seven
planetary realms one must surpass to reach the final destination. The
serves
as the middle point between the places of the left and right, and as a realm of waiting
for those beings which have not yet but will eventually receive the mystery of
forgiveness of sins and enter the Treasury.
Thus the aeons are here the lowest realms of the cosmos, the regions from the
earth to the outskirts of the solar system through which one must ascend; the bottom
regions among these serve as places of punishment or suffering for those who have
not received the proper mysteries; the
divides the cosmos into an upper and
lower realm,84 and the place of the right is the Treasury of Light, the final destination
and resting place for the initiated.
3.11.3
4PSa
Here the beginnings of preoccupation with sin, judgment and punishment start to
show. From the initial story of Sabaoth and Jabraoth being placed in different
regions based on their actions, the universe is now full of pitfalls, and sins are
attributed to the influence of evil beings who dwell in unsavory regions, waiting to
pounce upon the soul at death and torment it.
The Treasury of Light/place of the right remains the pinnacle of existence;
indeed, much of the cosmology reflects that of 2 Jeu: the twelve aeons, the thirteenth
aeon, the
, and the Treasury of Light. Now, however, the twelve aeons take
on the role of the zodiac, and the sublunar region of the way of the
must also
be surpassed, overcoming the five great archons’ efforts to entice one to sin. For one
trapped in these punishments, the motion of the planets moving about the
aeons/zodiac above can have beneficial results. The planets themselves take on their
Greek names, and are accorded the same basic natures they have in Hellenistic
84
One hesitates to describe these realms as “spiritual” or “material,” as at this point material is still
not viewed as uniformly negative.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
astrology—Jupiter and Venus are benefic, Saturn and Mars malefic, and Mercury
neutral.
Finally, in this text the concept of the populations of certain regions being
destroyed upon the performance of certain mysteries comes forth. Those slated for
destruction are the receivers of the “outer darkness” (possibly the
), those of
the “wicked judgments” (likely the twelve aeons), and the powers of the Barbelo, the
invisible god, and the three triple-powered gods (all of whom are residents of the
thirteenth aeon). Thus all regions below the
, that dividing region between
the upper and lower worlds, are eventually eliminated.
3.11.4
4PSb
Speculation on the punishment realms reaches a plateau here, which continues into
3PS before dropping away. This is a highly fragmentary text, so it is uncertain if the
upper regions receive treatment in the first portion of it; as it stands, the existence of
the Treasury of Light is confirmed by a single reference. The
is also part of
the system, based on the presence of the Little Sabaoth the Good, “he of the
,” and also more speculatively by the presence of the Virgin of Light who
elsewhere makes it her dwelling. The aeons of the sphere/zodiac play a role in the
sending of souls into the world, and the planets maintain their Greek names and
natures.
By far the primary focus in this text is outlining the fates of sinners based on
their sins, and this presents the reader with an impressive list of possible destinations:
from the least to worst, these include Amente, the Chaos, the
, and the outer
darkness. There are patterns of regions included in the postmortem journey based on
one’s life. The outer darkness is reserved for the very worst sinners, and from it
there is no hope of another chance. The Chaos is included for most of those who are
eventually outer-darkness bound. More general sinners are taken to Amente, the
Chaos and the
116
; while those who lived righteously but did not receive the
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
mysteries visit only Amente and the
(4PSb 382).85 It appears that the Chaos
was viewed in a darker perspective than the
, despite the
’s greater
fierceness of punishments.
All of these regions originate in the cosmologies of other religious traditions;
with the great concern this author shows for sins and punishments, it seems as though
he or she adopted several different punishment realms without particular concern for
the background or origin of each. However, given that the length of time spent in
these punishments, and indeed the number and type of these realms to which one was
subjected, varied based on the nature of the sin, it is clear that a sense of justice was
important to the author. Indeed, even the type of body one is cast into after having
undergone these punishments is designed to be fitting to one’s past crimes, and one
who lived righteously but did not receive the mysteries is sent into a form that will
surely find them in its next foray on earth.
3.11.5
3PS
As noted elsewhere, this text has its closest ties to 4PSb, and largely shares the same
basic cosmological structure—but without the latter’s more Hellenistic notions of the
planets’ names and variable natures. The First Mystery makes its debut as a high
entity almost on par with the Ineffable one. With it comes the first suggestion of the
spaces above the Treasury of Light, expanding the divine realm. The Treasury is
here described as a watershed region for those souls rescued from damnation but
which did not receive the mysteries to enter the higher realms.
The
maintains its role as a place of judgment and middle ground between the regions of
right and left. The planets have been homogenized into simply the “five great
archons of the great Heimarmene,” and the Heimarmene/aeons play a great role in
the formation of human beings, orchestrating their composition and fate.
possible that the
It is
also plays a role in this, a throwback to its previous position
relating to the planets and destiny. The underworld still consists of Amente, the
85
Interestingly, in 3PS the soul that receives the mysteries and is freed from the bonds of the
counterfeit spirit is taken past the
, but it is explicitly forbidden for it to be led through the
Chaoses (3PS 289). It seems as though there was a particular stigma against the Chaos in regards to
the righteous, and that this region could be easily bypassed.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
Chaos, the
and the outer darkness, and great effort is expended to delineate
the types of sins that would merit time in each. The outer darkness in particular is
elaborated here, but its frightfulness as the final pit of destruction for the souls
doomed to it is lessened by the introduction of a number of possibilities for escape.
This, combined with the regular refrain about the all-forgiving nature of the mystery
of the Ineffable, highlights an unwillingness to abandon anyone eternally, regardless
of the sin.
3.11.6
1 & 2PS
The cosmology of these texts is complicated by the lengthy myth of the fall and
redemption of Pistis Sophia, which uses a cosmic structure not reflected anywhere
else in the texts—the rest of 1/2PS included. Interpreting the myth as an allegory
that does not have direct bearing on the wider cosmology of the author would help to
resolve many of the issues the differences present. Thus, first the cosmology as it is
found in the myth will be presented, followed by the more general structure that is
closer to that found in the previous texts and could be logically derived from it.
Within the myth of Pistis Sophia, the main regions are the Treasury of Light,
the thirteenth aeon, the twelve aeons, and the Chaos.
These exist in a linear
hierarchy; thus Pistis Sophia looks up from her place in the thirteenth aeon and sees
the light of the Treasury directly above, and later moves down through the twelve
aeons directly into the Chaos. This structure could represent the plight of the spirit in
human form: when it realizes the higher light/truth (the Treasury directly bordering
on the thirteenth aeon), it strives to reach it; this causes jealousy in those ignorant of
this higher light who wish to rule humanity and keep it focused on material concerns.
The struggling spirit is then persecuted until it is laid low in Chaos, another
representation of the material world, full of authorities which torment it for its refusal
to conform and mock it for its faith. Only through continual faith and prayer can one
be restored, even to one’s original place.
In the wider text, the cosmological onion has several more layers which serve
no purpose in that allegorical context. Thus here the complexity of the spaces of the
First Mystery and the Ineffable are more thoroughly explored, this height of
existence now in full blossom. The Treasury of Light and the place of the right have
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
been divided into separate regions, and serve their primary purposes in relation to the
provision of powers to the incarnations of Jesus and the disciples. However, the
texts hint that their ultimate role and destiny remains closely bound with the higher
spaces/place of the inheritances, and that all three of these realms have sprung from
the same original cosmological seed. The
has lost its earlier functions, but
appears as a filter for higher elements to human incarnations.
Although the
thirteenth aeon plays a great part in the myth above, outside of that its main role is
fulfilled by its resident, the Barbelo, who provides Jesus with his material body.
Perhaps in part because of this redeeming function, its power is not touched when
Jesus ascends and drains the lower twelve aeons of some of their effectiveness.
Division has occurred in these texts in the realm of the aeons as well, as the twelve
aeons, the Heimarmene, and the sphere are all depicted as separate regions, despite
their functions remaining as they did when they were previously combined. The
firmament makes its first appearance, with no elaboration of its role. Despite the
multiplication of levels in these texts, their functions—other than as regions to pass
through on one’s way to the height—are all described primarily in relation to human
beings in the world, be it through powers of fate or the provision of special spiritual
elements in particular people at the time of Jesus’ arrival in the world.
The
, despite its relatively long history in the corpus, seems to have
fallen out of the system entirely at this point, with only the Chaos and the outer
darkness remaining as realms of punishment—and even these are mentioned only in
passing, and may at this point simply be figures of speech. Only the Chaos is present
in the list of universal knowledge the mysteries possess, and it is not accorded any
function outside of the Pistis Sophia myth. Indeed, within Jesus’ garments the
mysteries of all the regions are found, from the heights down to the firmament, with
no inkling of any of the punishment places. While previous scholars have connected
these texts directly with 3PS, thus associating them with a complex series of
underworld realms, the lack of any discussion of them in the mysteries of universal
knowledge suggests otherwise. Punishments and torments are included, but not the
carefully stratified regions based on the nature of sins. Rather, in 1/2PS it would
seem that evil and torments have mainly become the purview of the twelve aeons,
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
which are described as being in rebellion against the light and hindering the progress
of humanity. Jesus himself acts against their wickedness, affecting the course of
fate—but this is not the main way he acts as a savior of humanity. The mysteries
remain the true key to salvation, despite the veil of Scriptural and mythological
interpretation. Jesus presents these mysteries to his disciples to spread them to those
willing to believe, thus acting as heavenly savior. Much as in the earlier Books of
Jeu, the fixation on types of sins requiring specific punishments is lacking; the extra
punishment realms beyond the tyrants are redundant, and thus they have fallen away.
3.12 CONCLUSIONS
This discussion demonstrates the importance of cosmological speculation to the
authors of the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, and by extension to the group who
utilized them.
The lengthy and complex presentations of the various levels of
existence, both material and immaterial, closely tie in with the theories on salvation
and punishment or damnation. Whether it is the complex path of ascension for the
soul that had received the mysteries, or the destination of the sinning soul without the
mysteries that is captured by wicked archons, the outline of the universe is of utmost
importance. In the earliest text, the focus is entirely on the treasuries, the ultimate
destination of the saved soul, and this destination is reached solely through
possession of the appropriate knowledge of names, seals and symbols. Later texts
give increasingly greater attention to the lifestyle of the believer as well as the
required knowledge or mysteries, highlighting sins that must be avoided or repented
to be allowed passage. In these cases, a great deal of speculation is given regarding
the punishments that await those who do not maintain an appropriate lifestyle, and
accordingly to the realms dedicated to those punishments. The visible starry realm
changes from the epitome of existence to a position of suspicion and fear, and its
place in the cosmological spectrum changes accordingly. In the end, although the
incarnation of Jesus appears to play a greater role as he changes part of the cosmic
order through his ascension, ultimately this change is relatively minor. Even in the
final iteration, the underlying focus is still on receiving the mysteries on earth to be
granted passage to a place of glory, traversing the complex hierarchy of realms on
which this group fixated.
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CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
This analysis of the cosmologies contained in the various texts further
confirms the order of the texts proposed in this thesis. Regions once called by
multiple names are later divided into separate regions that still retain the functions of
the original, simpler organization—thus the role and contents of the Treasury of
Light become divided among the place of the right, the Treasury, and the place of the
inheritances, and the twelve aeons are later joined by the Heimarmene and the
sphere. In this instance, the pattern of moving from a simpler to a more complex
layout, rather than a complex organization being flattened into simplified layers,
seems to be the more logical option. It is further in keeping with other developments
of belief and practice identifiable across the texts.
Against the argument of
circularity is the evidence of the region of the Midst (
), which in 2 Jeu and
4PSa serves as the midpoint between the regions of the right and the left, the realms
of light and materiality. There it serves as a place of judgment, and of waiting to
enter the higher realms or to be cast back into the world. The addition of the
punishment realms in 4PSb and 3PS makes this notion of a midpoint between the
right and left somewhat less poignant—3PS even includes souls waiting for entry
into the inheritances in the Treasury, thus removing one of its main functions. In
1/2PS it is lost in an increasing stratification of regions, no longer the middle of
anything. The change of a realm specifically called the “Midst” or “Middle” from
being the middle of two main universal divisions to but one of a myriad of
cosmological layers strikes one as a later change, brought about by other
developments in cosmological and soteriological speculation.
Although the
mysteries needed for salvation remain relatively constant, the surrounding structure
is adapted to later concerns and ideas.
121
122
1 Jeu
2 Jeu
4PSa
Outer Darkness (?)
)
Twelve Aeons/
Heimarmene/
Sphere (Zodiac)
Twelve Aeons
(5 sublunar/7
planetary?)
Midst (
Thirteenth Aeon
Thirteenth Aeon
Fourteenth Aeon
)
Midst (
)
Midst (
Midst (
)
Treasury of
Light/Place of the
Right
Treasury of
Light/Place of the
Right
Cosmology by Text
Treasuries of
Light (1-60)
(Star Realm)
Table 3.4:
4PSb
Outer Darkness
)
)
)
3PS
Outer Darkness
Midst (
Chaos
Chaos
Midst (
Amente
Amente
Midst (
Aeons/
Heimarmene
)
Treasury of Light
Treasury of Light
(place of the right)
)
1/2PS
Outer Darkness (?)
Chaos (?)
Firmament
First Sphere
Heimarmene
Twelve Aeons
Thirteenth Aeon
Midst (
Place of the Right
Spaces of
Ineffable/First
Mystery
3 Spaces (First
Mystery/
Ineffable)
(Aeons of the)
Sphere (Zodiac)
Midst (
Treasury of Light
CHAPTER 3 • COSMIC STRUCTURE
CHAPTER 4
TRACING THE TRADITION: IMPORTANT FIGURES
Having explored the changing cosmology of the extant Jeuian texts, it will now be
helpful to examine some of the individual figures that feature prominently in the
Jeuian theological system. Given the variation found in the cosmic structure, one
might expect the roles of the divine entities to change, as well. Certainly between the
texts a given figure will be more or less prominent, and there may be an impression
of a rise or dip in status; but a close inspection will reveal that the nature of most
figures and their actions remains essentially the same. This supports the notion that
despite the more obvious differences and developments, these texts are the product of
a group that maintained an underlying core of myths and ideas. In the following
discussion the development of several beings or entities that play important roles
throughout the texts will be traced: Jeu, Melchisedek, Sabaoth the Great/Good,
Sabaoth the Little/Good, Sabaoth the Adamas/Tyrant, and Jesus himself.
In so
doing, the underlying consistency of certain ideas will be revealed, despite the span
of time that must have stretched between the original composition of these works.
4.1 JEU: DIVINE DEMIURGE AND OVERSEER
The first and most obvious connection between the texts is the importance of the
figure known as Jeu. His role is of the greatest eminence in the earliest text: in 1 Jeu
he is described as the “true God,” an emanation of the Father of Jesus, and the
demiurge who brings forth divine beings with his three creative voices, moved by the
command of Jesus’ Father. The Treasuries of Light, which make up the entirety of
the divine realm in this text, abound with beings bearing his name as their final
element—his children of sorts, emanated to be the heads of the Treasuries. These
Treasuries of Light appear to represent the starry realm, which Jeu organizes. He is
clearly of the highest rank, subject only to Jesus and his Father.
In 2 Jeu, the supra-terrestrial realms are divided, with most of the text being
devoted to the lower aeonic world and preliminary or initiatory rituals; accordingly
the role of as transcendent a being as Jeu is less prevalent, but still present. Jesus
presents to his disciples a list of the mysteries they will perform and the ranks
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
through which they will pass.
In the first list, immediately preceding the
performance of the three baptisms, Jeu is named as “ruler of the whole treasury” and
as the final bastion before their entry to “the treasury of the innermost ones, to the
places of the innermost of the innermost, which is the silence and quietness,” where
they receive rest (2 Jeu 105; see Table 3.3). After the baptisms and the mystery to
take away the evil of the archons, again a list of ranks and progression is given. This
time Jeu again features near the end of the list, described as “the great Man, he who
is the ruler of this whole Treasury of the Light,”1 and “the father of the Treasury of
the Light” (2 Jeu 122, see Appendix). Here, however, there are still places to
progress beyond his first appearance; he appears to be stationed at the outermost
regions of the Treasuries. After passing through further regions into the interior of
the Treasuries, they reach the treasury of the “true god.” In 1 Jeu this is also a
designation of Jeu, but here it appears to refer to a separate figure. Once the treasury
of this “true god” is attained, the true god presents them with his mystery, seal and
great name, and calls upon the “unapproachable god” (
). This
is a term which appears in the hymn at the end of 1 Jeu, also referring to the Father
of Jesus (1 Jeu 93). This unapproachable god sends forth a light power to complete
the disciples in “every pleroma, and make [them] into a rank in that treasury [of the
true god]” (2 Jeu 125). Thus the place of the true god is the highest to which a
human can attain, residing in the presence of the being immediately below the
highest being or divine power in existence—who is by his nature “unapproachable.”
The division of Jeu, the true god into two separate entities in 2 Jeu may stem from
shifting views on the construction of the cosmos. In 1 Jeu the only realms discussed
are those of the treasuries, and there is no hint of a lower, intermediate realm before
approaching them; the true god Jeu thus produces, rules, and gives his name to all
their ruling entities. In that text it appears that the visible cosmos and all it comprises
are tied in with the Treasuries. 2 In 2 Jeu, however, the regions are increasingly
stratified, perhaps requiring rulers appropriate to each level. The “true god” could
easily be taken as a title appropriate to a higher entity, while Jeu, being a knowable
1
This title suggests the theme of a primal divine “Man” that is later restated but slightly altered in
3PS; see below.
2
For more on the cosmology of the texts and its relations to ancient conceptions of theogony and the
afterlife, see Chs. 3 and 6.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
name, might be considered more appropriate to a powerful but less lofty figure. Jeu
maintains his positive nature and residence in the Treasury of Light, as the earlier
tradition had him so inextricably tied with its creation and organization, but the true
god is exalted to the place immediately before the unknowable one. Jeu’s role,
beyond “ruler of the whole treasury,” is unclear in this text. It might be observed,
however, that in the division of Jeu and the true god, Jeu remains lower, better
positioned for a role of organization of the visible cosmos and command over the
material entities, but still based in the immaterial realm of light.
Although the true god does not feature in 4PSa, the role of Jeu is again
clearly that of a cosmic organizer, specifically of the material aeons, himself based in
the Treasury of Light or “place of the right.” He appears moving and binding the
rebellious archons of Sabaoth the Adamas (different from Sabaoth the Good) “in a
Heimarmene-sphere,” and he moves the good, believing archons of Jabraoth “to a
purified air in the presence of the light of the sun, between the places of those of the
Midst (
) and between the places of the Invisible God” (4PSa 355-356). The
Heimarmene-sphere here is the zodiac, the sphere of fixed stars, thus binding the
sinning aeons within the material realm; in contrast the
is the border of the
light realm, the place where the judge of souls resides—not quite a part of the light
realm, but also beyond the reach of the material aeons. In addition to imprisoning
and organizing the rebellious archons, he also assigns powers to the five planets, and
sets their courses in the sphere. Jeu is further described as “the provider of all the
archons and the gods and the powers which have come into existence in the matter of
the light of the Treasury” (4PSa 360). Thus he exerts power over the material
regions and entities, but remains in and derives power from the Treasury of Light.
Jeu is also called the Father of Jesus’ Father (4PSa 355; 359; 360), a
potentially confusing designation given Jesus’ origin from the unapproachable or
ineffable one. The key to this title is hinted at in 3PS and clarified in 2PS: the great
Sabaoth, the Good is the one Jesus has called his Father—referring to the “father” of
the soul or power of his earthly incarnation and as such, in all likelihood the God of
the Bible; Jeu, in turn, is the father of this great Sabaoth. He maintains a powerful
position between this and his role in organizing the cosmos. However, despite the
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
disappearance of the “true god,” he is not alone in his position of power: it is along
with Melchisedek that the text says, “these two alone are the great lights” (4PSa 360,
emphasis mine).
As shall be seen below, Melchisedek also dwells in the
Treasury/place of the right, collecting light from the material archons and
participating in the process of releasing tormented souls from the archontic realms.
There is thus another apparently equal being that resides in the same region as Jeu
and participates in the maintenance of the archons.
In 3PS Jeu is called the “Overseer of the Light” and the “Messenger of the
First Ordinance,” reflecting his position of authority and ties to the light-realm.
Again the entities he oversees are in the lower, material realms. He also bears the
title “First Man” in this section, bringing to mind the idea of the Man-Son of Man
connections in Sethian theology, 3 and thus a role of extreme preeminence in the
overall hierarchy of divine emanations. This might also be reflected in his indirect
connection with the person of Jesus, being the Father of his Father. One should note
that the use of this terminology is not, however, identical to that found in the Sethian
system, and that many of the characteristic features of the Sethian figure are lacking
from the portrayal of Jeu.4 The presence of such terminology does not point to a
direct adoption of Sethian ideas.
Jeu’s position of power over the lower regions is represented as he commands
angels to watch over the archons of the dragon of the outer darkness. These angels
take up those souls imprisoned within the torments of the dragon who know one of
the twelve mystery-names of the archons of the dragon and deliver them to Jeu, who
examines the souls to see if they have “completed their cycles” in the world (3PS
329-330). It should be noted that this is the only instance where the Virgin of the
Light, “the judge (
),”5 is bypassed for a soul: Jeu shows mercy to souls that
are spared from the outer darkness through this mystery but which have completed
their cycles in the world and sends them to the seven virgins of the light. These
beings then baptize them and set them aside for purification, sparing them from
3
See J.D. Turner, Sethian Gnosticism and the Platonic Tradition (Québec: University of Laval Press,
2001), 78n.22.
4
Compare the description in A.D. DeConick, The Thirteenth Apostle: What the Gospel of Judas
Really Says (2007; revised edition London: Continuum, 2009), 105 and n.16.
5
She is referenced with this title a few times in 3PS; see 285, 294. Although she functions as judge
elsewhere, the only other place where this title appears is in the fire baptismal rite of 2 Jeu (110-111).
126
CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
destruction (3PS 330). This appears to give Jeu a unique power of mercy and
clemency apart from that of the Virgin of Light that is not found elsewhere in the
texts. At any rate, here Jeu is obviously important in the divine realm and plays a
role in relation both to the wicked punishment realms and to human souls; his
relationship to the more transcendent being or God is not specified.
The final two books present the most downplayed version of Jeu’s role and
importance. He is still called the overseer of light, and indeed he is still credited with
the initial organization of the celestial sphere and its motions. However, Jesus has
the power to overturn that ordering, shifting the spheres to face different directions
and inhibit the powers of human diviners. In the myth of Pistis Sophia, she calls
upon the Light to send Jeu, its “angel,” to pursue and smite her tormenters and give
off more light (1PS 31; 34); thus within this mythic context he is converted from the
highest organizer of the heavens to a workaday angel. He is also described as having
come forth from the pure light of the first tree of the five trees (2PS 194-195), the
other trees producing Melchisedek, two leaders, and the watcher of the veil. The
mystery of the five trees is one of the key mysteries of the group, appearing
throughout the texts; however, it is not the highest mystery, and it places him on
equal footing with four other beings.
Thus, in 1 Jeu, Jeu begins as the highest creative and administrative power of
Treasury of Light, the visible sky, which at first is all that exists; and he derives
directly from the highest unapproachable or ineffable god. With changes to the view
of the cosmic structure and nature, the visible sky is reduced in stature.
Jeu
maintains both his position within the now-elevated Treasury of Light, and his
occupation of maintaining the celestial spheres, represented as the lower, material
aeons—although at least at one stage he is afforded some control over the destiny of
certain human souls. His origin, once directly from the thought of the highest
principle, is moved to a secondary source, the five trees—an important element of
the group’s system, but still divorced from his initial lofty beginning. Thus, from
beginning to end Jeu has the role of initial organizer of the stars and planets; it is the
nature of the stars themselves that shifts to the negative. It is due to these latter
changes that Jeu’s position is gradually reduced in its hierarchical prestige.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
4.2 ZOROKOTHORA MELCHISEDEK: TRANSPORTER OF LIGHT
This figure, appearing with either or both of his names, appears in all of the texts
except 1 Jeu and 4PSb. It is unclear whether (Zorokothora) Melchisedek would have
played a role in the group’s theology at the point of the original composition of 1
Jeu. This is because elsewhere he is usually closely tied with Jeu (who here is almost
parallel with Jesus in terms of closeness to the unapproachable god) and operates
primarily moving between realms which in 1 Jeu have not yet been stratified. In
4PSb, the text’s focus is on sins and punishments, which again are largely unrelated
to (Zorokothora) Melchisedek’s role; indeed, this is the only text in which Jeu does
not appear, as well. As with Jeu, (Zorokothora) Melchisedek’s dwelling is found in
the Treasury/place of the right, while his primary functions occur in the material
regions.
In 2 Jeu, it is he who is called upon to bring the waters of the first two
baptisms (of water and fire) to the place of the ritual. The final baptism is evidently
higher and beyond the reach of such an intermediary, requiring the direct
intervention of the Father of Jesus (2 Jeu 108-114). Zorokothora Melchisedek thus
seems to be a sort of high-ranking courier, in this case bringing elements from above
for use in rituals below. In 4PSa, he still acts as a messenger and carrier, now
transporting light purified from the archons and bringing them into the Treasury of
the Light. His gaze from the height also releases the souls trapped by the third of the
five great archons of the Midst (4PSa 363-364). In this same section, Jeu looks forth
and releases the souls trapped by the second of these great archons. As noted above,
Zorokothora Melchisedek is here classified along with Jeu as one of the two “great
lights” (4PSa 360), affirming his status as one of the highest beings, parallel with
Jeu.
In 3PS the name “Zorokothora” drops out of use.
The subordinates of
Melchisedek appear delivering the souls of those sinners for whom believers pray
from the judgments of archons and the dragon of the outer darkness, and bringing
them to the Virgin of the Light for examination (3PS 324-326). Melchisedek himself
is said to take the purified bits of light from the work of the archons (3PS 333-334),
and he is further listed among those who seal the souls which have become good and
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
received mysteries, along with the Virgin of the Light and the Great Sabaoth the
Good (3PS 290-291). It should be noted that in this list of high beings the name of
Jeu is not found. This supports the notion that Jeu is relegated to working in a
different, but perhaps parallel capacity.
The subordinates of both Jeu and
Melchisedek retrieve certain souls from the damnation of the outer darkness;
however, there are two modes by which one might be released, and each is assigned
to one of the types.
Jeu takes the ones who free themselves with their own
knowledge, while Melchisedek handles those who are freed through the prayers and
actions of living believers. The tasks of Jeu and Melchisedek, the two great lights,
seem to be largely equal in prestige or divine hierarchy, but separate. Jeu and his
subordinates maintain the order of the archontic beings and aeons, and Melchisedek
with his receivers transport purified light from the work of the archons and souls of
men for sealing and transference into the Treasury of Light.
In 1PS Melchisedek again appears as the Receiver of Light, purifying what
power he can of the archons, taking away that purified light and carrying it into the
Treasury of the Light (1PS 34-36). As discussed above, in 2PS he is said to come
forth from the fifth tree in the mystery of the five trees, placing him at the far end of
the trees from Jeu. This, too, reflects a view of the two figures as equally important
but different in the roles they fill.
Thus the figure of Zorokothora Melchisedek essentially maintains the role of
a divine porter, bringing the holy baptismal waters to earth, as well as being
entrusted with collecting and transporting divine light from souls that reject evil and
from the dregs of the work of the archons. His hierarchical position is unclear in his
earliest appearance, but it is quickly made clear that regardless of early notions, he
becomes a high being on par with Jeu. These two beings appear to share essentially
similar rank in the divine bureaucracy, but fulfill different, equally important roles
therein. As a final note, it should be observed that although Melchisedek is a figure
known in Judaism and both mainstream and non-mainsteam Christianities, his role as
presented in these texts has no direct parallels in other known traditions.6
6
F.L. Horton, Jr., The Melchizedek Tradition: A Critical Examination of the Sources to the Fifth
Century A.D. and in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 166.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
4.3 THE GREAT SABAOTH, THE GOOD: FATHER OF JESUS’ EARTHLY
SOUL
The Great Sabaoth appears once in 2 Jeu, in a list of the ranks through which the
disciples are told they will travel (2 Jeu 119, see Table 3.3). His rank appears within
the gates of the Treasury of Light, between the ranks of the twin saviors and the great
Jao, the Good. His place is well below the final or most supreme rank given. No
information is given about his power or role. His appears to be a name that was
recognized as belonging among the heavenly ranks, but without much place to
discuss his wider role in the context of the book.
In 4PSa he again is referenced once, this time as the first of the five beings
whose gaze from the height destroys the places of the great evil archons and releases
the souls from their power (4PSa 361).
He thus shares a role with Jeu and
Zorokothora Melchisedek, whose participation in this process has already been
discussed. It has already been noted that Jeu is considered the father of the Great
Sabaoth, perhaps explaining their closeness and shared power here.
In his one appearance in 3PS, the Great Sabaoth, the Good is said to be the
one “above the gate of life in the place of the right, who is called the Father” (3PS
291). His role as father will be discussed shortly. The soul unhindered by the evil of
the archons sings him songs of praise and presents him with his seals and defenses;
Sabaoth then seals the soul with his own seal. He is presented in conjunction with
Melchisedek in the place of the right, which at this point is likely still within the
Treasury of Light.7 He is clearly viewed as a powerful and respected being, but
remains in a brief appearance, as the focus of the text is more on the creation,
struggles, and journey of the soul, not on the particulars of the inhabitants of the
divine realms or the nature of Jesus’ incarnation.
In 1/2PS, however, he finally features prominently. His role here is primarily
providing a power of light for the earthly incarnation of Jesus. Early on in these
texts, as Jesus explains his formation and conception in the world, he states that
having called upon Mary in the form of Gabriel, “in place of the soul, [he] cast into
her the power which [he] received from the Great Sabaoth, the Good, who is in the
7
See Section 3.3.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
place of the right” (1PS 13-14). In this way the Great Sabaoth is the father of his
earthly incarnation: in 3PS it is explained that the archons who form the souls are the
fathers of those souls (3PS 337), but Jesus receives his soul (or “power”) not from
the material archons, but from the Great Sabaoth.8 This power and its relation to
Jesus are then used by the disciples in the interpretation of a number of scriptural
passages.
The most important of these passages is Ps. 85:10-11: “Mercy and truth have
met one another; righteousness and peace have kissed one another.
Truth has
sprouted from the earth and righteousness has looked forth from heaven.” These two
verses are interpreted four times in light of Jesus’ role in the world, twice by Mary,
the mother of Jesus, once by “the other Mary,” presumably the Magdalene, and once
at the beginning of 2PS by John. Each interpretation breaks the verse up into three
pairs.
The first interpretation by Mary, the mother of Jesus, contains no reference to
the power of Sabaoth: it focuses on the material body of Jesus combined with the
Spirit from the height which brings the mysteries to mankind. In this sense it is the
most “orthodox” of the interpretations, for although a power of Barbelo becoming a
material body for Jesus is mentioned, the overall impression is that of the importance
of the material body joining with the power of the Spirit from the height to free
mankind from sin and preach truth (1PS 122).
The second interpretation by the other Mary focuses exclusively on the nonmaterial, interpreting the pairs as combinations of the Spirit of the light/Godhead
with the power of Sabaoth the Good. Although the events take place in the world,
the elements involved are spiritual and are clearly acting benevolently in helping
mankind.
This is in keeping with the view of Mary Magdalene as the most
spiritually enlightened of the disciples.9 In this interpretation, Sabaoth the Good is
described as truth and peace (1PS 123-124).
8
C. Schmidt also observes this role as distinct from that of Jesus’ preexistent Father; see Pistis
Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk des dritten Jahrhunderts aus dem Koptischen übersetzt (1925;
reprint: Graz: Edition Geheimes Wissen, 2010), 67n.3.
9
For example, the Gospel of Mary features her in this enlightened position, and also contains the
rivalry of Peter to her that is found in 1PS 58 and 4PSb 377. See also GosPhil 63,33-64,10, for her
close relationship to the Savior. The Greater and Lesser Questions of Mary mentioned by Epiphanius
(Pan 26.8.2) also seem to suggest a place of high esteem for her, although the contents of the former
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
The third interpretation is again given by the mother of Jesus. Although she
does this time incorporate the power of Sabaoth, her interpretation is again very
material, tying the verse to the stories of Jesus and John the Baptist’s conceptions
and lives. Here the power of Sabaoth is mercy, that which came forth from her own
womb, while truth is in John who came forth from Elisabeth. Righteousness and
peace who meet and kiss are, again, John and Jesus. Finally, righteousness looking
forth from heaven is Jesus in the form of Gabriel during the annunciation, and truth
from the earth is again the power of Sabaoth from Mary’s womb (1PS 124-125).
The final interpretation by John again focuses on loftier entities. The power
of Sabaoth, this time always directly connected with the matter of the Barbelo, is said
to come forth from the “place of the right, which is outside the Treasury of the Light,
and [go] to the place of the left” (2PS 128). Sabaoth the Good, then, is higher than
the Barbelo, who dwells in the thirteenth aeon in the place of the left, but is not
included among the beings of the Treasury. The movement of his power from the
superior place of the right to the inferior place of the left demonstrates his
benevolence, which is further accentuated by his provision of power to Jesus. It
should be noted that at the beginning of the section before John begins his
interpretation, the figure to whom John is speaking is clearly stated to be Jesus. The
First Mystery is referred to as Jesus’ father. In the final section of the interpretation,
however, John states, “Righteousness…which looked forth from heaven is thou, the
First Mystery which looked forth, having come forth from the spaces of the height
with the mysteries of the kingdom of the light…thou didst come down upon him who
is Jesus our Saviour, like a dove” (2PS 128-129).10 The addressee is thenceforth
called the First Mystery in the text. This interpretation is especially interesting, as it
identifies Jesus with the dual nature of son and “Father” or First Mystery, which is a
view most clearly found in the gospel of John, suggesting the author’s awareness of
the tradition of John holding such a view.
as he describes them are at odds with those of the Pistis Sophia, suggesting that traditions surrounding
her varied from group to group.
10
The descent of the dove here is not an overt association of the First Mystery with the Holy Spirit.
Matthew provides the bulk of gospel allusions in the texts, and this passage appears to utilize one of
its striking images without a full appreciation of or call to its original intent.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
The other most noteworthy aspect of John’s interpretation is that it ties the
power of the Great Sabaoth to the myth of the six believing archons of Jabraoth
found in its most complete form in 4PSa (2PS 128; 4PSa 355). It thus combines the
assertion of Jesus’ shared nature with the First Mystery, the implied importance of
Sabaoth’s power over and above that of the physical matter of Barbelo, and an
integration of the mythos from an earlier iteration of cosmology into the present
soteriological focus.
From the sheer number of interpretations one can see that this set of verses
was a very important one for the author. Non-mainstream esoteric Christian issues
such as Jesus’ dual spiritual and material nature, the multiplicity of heavenly beings
and their natures, and the interpretation of gospel passages are all found in the
interpretations of these two verses. All of the interpretations are praised by Jesus
equally, giving the impression that multivalent interpretations were both accepted
and encouraged. It is further apparent that the power of Sabaoth was an integral part
of the complex series of readings. It is set in juxtaposition with the Spirit from on
high, and although associated with the matter of Barbelo it is generally accepted to
be superior to it. The interpretations of the spiritual Mary and John correspond to
each other, although the phrasing is different; and the more worldly interpretations of
Mary the mother of Jesus, particularly in relation to gospel stories, are largely in
fitting with
introductory non-mainstream
esoteric Christian
teaching and
interpretation tools.
The last references to the Great Sabaoth, the Good come in the middle of
2PS. The references occur in a lengthy description of the structure and superiority of
beings in the divine realms. The text states, “Jeu and the watcher of the veil of the
great light, and the paralemptors of the light, and the two great leaders, and the Great
Sabaoth the Good will be rulers in the first saviour of the first voice of the Treasury
of the Light, who (the first saviour) will be in the place of those who receive the first
mystery of the First Mystery” (2PS 194). This places him in the highest echelons of
the divine ranks to which a human soul can attain, assigned as a ruler in the place of
those who have received the highest of the mysteries. Despite the fact that he resides
in the place of the right, which in this text has been separated and lowered from the
Treasury of Light, in the end he will possess an exalted position.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
Shortly thereafter Jesus states, “The Great Sabaoth the Good, he whom I have
called my Father, also came forth from Jeu, the overseer of the light” (2PS 195). As
has already been discussed, Sabaoth the Good plays the role of the earthly Jesus’
Father, he who provided the material of Barbelo with a soul/power untainted by the
archons. Jesus’ higher, spiritual aspect is descended directly from the First Mystery,
while his earthly soul is the product of Sabaoth, making both entities, in effect, his
Father. It is interesting to note that in the multiple interpretations of the elements of
Jesus’ incarnation, the power of Sabaoth is associated with all of the four elements
except for righteousness. If the Great Sabaoth is the one Jesus called Father in the
Scriptures, that makes him most likely the god of the Bible—often described in terms
of righteousness.
It must be noted that although the term “Sabaoth” is also found as a proper
name in other non-mainstream esoteric Christian sources, the nature and role of these
figures are completely different. In Sethian tradition Sabaoth is the offspring of the
wicked demiurge (ApJohn II 10,34; III 16,25; BG 40,10; IV 26,19), who is
sometimes thought to have repented and been exalted over his father (HypArch
95,15-25).11 This Sabaoth’s origin is at odds with that of the divine figure found in
the Jeuian texts, who is derived from a high source, not associated with the world or
other worldly rulers, and who provides the power to the Savior’s incarnation. Even
when Sabaoth is repentant and exalted in other texts, the roles are not equivalent, and
show little evidence of connection.
The Great Sabaoth, the Good, is clearly
independent of other known non-mainstream esoteric Christian traditions.12
In sum, the Great Sabaoth, the Good, begins as a figure placed high in the
divine realm, but without much information given about his specific role. He is
involved in the salvation of souls trapped by evil archons in 4PSa, but in 1/2PS his
true importance is revealed: he is the father of Jesus’ earthly soul. As the one Jesus
called Father, he most likely represents the god of the Bible. This correspondence is
alluded to in 4PSa, but not elucidated until 2PS, where Scriptural interpretation is of
high importance. The role of his power in the world through Jesus has a number of
11
For this name in other lists of archons, see Origen, Cels 6.31; Irenaeus, AdvHaer I.30.5; the
Brummer gem; for parallels with the repentance account found in HypArch, see OrigWorld 103,32104,26.
12
The same observations are relevant with respect to the Little Sabaoth, the Good, as well.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
interpretations, including being a bearer of mercy, truth, and peace to mankind.
Although with the increased stratification of cosmological levels his position is
downgraded from the high Treasury of Light to the next place down, his role stays
the same, and his ultimate destiny remains in the highest of the divine ranks.
4.4 THE LITTLE SABAOTH, THE GOOD: PLANETARY LEADER AND
IMPARTER OF WISDOM
The Little Sabaoth makes his first and primary appearance in 4PSa. Five great
archons, representing the planets, are set over the archons bound in the zodiacsphere. To each of these great archons, Jeu binds a power from another being of the
thirteenth aeon. When only Zeus/Jupiter is left, he “noticed that they needed a
rudder in order to guide the world with the aeons of the sphere so that it might not be
destroyed by their wickedness. He went into the Midst (
), he drew a power
out of the Little Sabaoth, the Good, he of the Midst, he bound it to Zeus because he is
good, so that he should guide them with his goodness” (4PSa 356-357). Later
references are to “the Little Sabaoth, the Good, who is called Zeus in the world”
(4PSa 361-366), reducing the distinction between them further.
This tells one both that the Little Sabaoth dwells in the
, that neutral
place betwixt the material aeons and the place of the right, and also that his power is
associated with Zeus—the benefic planet Jupiter and its movements through the
heavenly sphere. It is when the Little Sabaoth/Zeus and Aphrodite (or Venus) take
up positions in opposite signs of the zodiac that sinful souls are released from the
clutches of the evil great archons (4PSa 361-364, 366). Partially because of his
motions as or with Zeus through the celestial sphere, evil is gradually destroyed, and
human souls are given another chance in the world.
In 4PSb, the Little Sabaoth, the Good carries out actions in his own right, and
is not tied to Zeus—although Zeus/Jupiter still has a key role to play, it is
independent. In this text, a soul which committed no sins in life and did good, but
which did not receive the mysteries, is placed in the presence of the Little Sabaoth in
the
. The soul remains there until the planets reach a favorable configuration
to go before the judge of souls. After the soul is given the cup of forgetfulness by
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
Sabaoth the Adamas’ lackey, an assistant of the Little Sabaoth, the Good “brings a
cup which is filled with understanding and wisdom, and there is soberness in it. And
he gives it to the soul, and it is cast into a body which is not able to sleep nor is it
able to forget…it will be a goad to its heart continually, to seek for the mysteries of
the light until it finds them” (4PSb 383). In a sense, then, one Sabaoth counteracts
the efforts of another: although the Adamas’ minion still forces forgetting on the
sinless human soul, the Little Sabaoth gives the soul the impetus to overcome the
forgetting and achieve salvation through the mysteries of the light.
There is a final reference to the Little Sabaoth, the Good, in 2PS. Here he
received the power of “Sabaoth the Good,” which is truth, and “cast it into the matter
of the Barbelo” (2PS 128). This combination of Barbelo-matter and Sabaoth-power
forms the earthly body of Jesus, and as discussed above receives a great deal of
exegesis from PS 122-129 (spanning the end of 1PS and the beginning of 2PS). The
Little Sabaoth is a different figure from the “Sabaoth the Good” (also known as the
Great) that actually provides the power, and simply transfers it to the matter. It is
possible that the designations of “Little” and “Great” stem from the two beings’
residences: the Little Sabaoth dwells in the
, that border separating the places
of the left and right, while the Great Sabaoth dwells in the place of the right, counted
among such illustrious beings as Jeu and Melchisedek. Perhaps the Little Sabaoth
appears here as the intermediary between these material and immaterial realms,
saving the Great Sabaoth from moving into the former. When he does so, he also
preaches on the place of truth to the beings of the left, reprising his role of granting
wisdom in 4PSb. However, the focus of the passage is Jesus’ great power and
benevolence, so it is unsurprising that the Little Sabaoth plays only a minor role.
Thus, the Little Sabaoth is a figure that early appears in association with
Zeus/Jupiter, benefic leader of the planets. Through this association he plays a
positive role by aiding in the destruction of evil archons and releasing imprisoned
souls. Additionally, he provides wisdom to souls that were good and sinless in the
world but had not discovered the mysteries of light by the time of their death,
therefore giving them a greater chance of finding these mysteries on their next
sojourn into a body. In the end he remains a positive figure associated with wisdom
and divine assistance, although the nature of the later texts do not afford him much
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
discussion. Overall he pales in comparison to the role of the Great Sabaoth, the
offspring of Jeu who plays a key part in the formation of the earthly Jesus.
4.5 SABAOTH, THE ADAMAS: WICKED RULER OF FATE AND
MATERIALITY
Sabaoth the Adamas is referred to twice in 2 Jeu. First he appears in Jesus’ warning
to the disciples not to give the mysteries to anyone who is not worthy to receive
them; particularly he warns against giving them to
those who serve the eighth power 13 of the great archon, who are those who eat the
menstrual blood of their impurity and the semen of men, saying: ‘We have known the
knowledge of truth, and we pray to the true God.’ However, their God is wicked…He is
the third power of the great archon. Moreover this is his name: Taricheas, the son of
Sabaoth, the Adamas. (2 Jeu 100)
The second reference is in the ritual of the mystery to remove the evil of the archons.
Jesus, having purified the disciples through the three baptisms, now prays, “Hear me,
my Father, thou father of all fatherhoods, thou infinite Light. Hear me and compel
Sabaoth, the Adamas, and all his rulers to come and take away their evil from my
disciples” (2 Jeu 115).
These references depict Sabaoth the Adamas as the epitome of archontic evil.
He is the “great archon,” whose taint afflicts all men who do not undergo the proper
rituals, and whose powers further entice some misguided people from the path of
light. No specific actions are attributed to him other than being essentially evil, and
that followers of his powers engage in disturbing sexual rituals.
In 4PSa, there is slightly more specificity as to his wickedness: he and his
archons “continued to be concerned with sexual intercourse, begetting archons and
archangels and angels and ministers and decans” (4PSa 355). This is fitting, given
his association with those human beings who participate in sexual rituals mentioned
in 2 Jeu. The various begotten beings likely represent stars and other celestial
bodies, epitomizing the material realm in which these entities and their sensuality
hold sway. They are all bound in a “Heimarmene-sphere” as punishment (4PSa
355)—the visible zodiac, ruled by the planets, and thereby made subject to fate
13
Correcting MacDermot’s translation, which reads “eight powers.” Unfortunately the manuscript is
broken off, so it is unclear whether it is a transcription error that results in the disparity between the
entity being referred to as “eighth” (
) and “third” (
) powers of the great archon.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
themselves. Furthermore, in 4PSb it is one of his underlings who gives the cup of
forgetfulness to souls about to be recast into bodies in the world, denying them the
knowledge they had acquired from previous lives and punishments (4PSb 374; 376;
378; 379; 382). 14 The essence of the Adamas’ evil, then, would seem to be an
embracing of sexuality and physicality/materiality, in addition to an active role in
making the learning process and purification of human souls more difficult.
In 3PS the name of a figure known as the king Adamas appears four times,
without the name Sabaoth associated with it (3PS 290, 292, 333). This practice of
streamlining names is seen elsewhere in these texts, such as the reduction of
“Zorokothora Melchisedek” to simply Melchisedek discussed above. In this case
simplifying the name could also be an effort to reduce stigma and confusion
associated with the identifier “Sabaoth,” given the overwhelmingly positive role
another figure with that name plays in 1/2PS.
All that is said about the Adamas is the location of his places in proximity to
the aeons of the Heimarmene, the fact that defenses and seals are needed to pass
safely by his places and tyrants, and the notion that if a soul is returning to the world,
his archons give that soul a “cup of forgetfulness from the seed of evil” (3PS 333). It
is clear that he is a negative figure with power over a number of lower beings, once
again in close proximity to the Heimarmene if not directly contained therein.
However, beyond the reference to the cup of forgetfulness, which reflects the ideas in
4PSb, little insight is given into his specific role or actions.
The reduced role of the Adamas is likely due to the different focus of this
text. Previously there was interest in discussing what beings or influences incite men
to sin. (Sabaoth) the Adamas is a key figure in orchestrating fate, materiality and
continued transmigration of ignorant souls. This text, however, devotes much more
thought to policies for imparting the mysteries on earth, the ascension process,
modes of avoiding the destruction of the dragon of the outer darkness, and the
formation of human beings. Adamas here appears receiving his due defences and
14
Although there is little connection between this figure and those called “Sabaoth” or “Adamas” in
other non-mainstream esoteric Christian mythologies, it is worth noting the parallel that the chief
archon in the long recension of ApJohn, who is also closely involved with a wicked interpretation of
fate, is associated with “water of forgetfulness” that makes humans forget their origins (ApJohn II
25,7; IV 39,4-5).
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
seals on the journey of ascending souls, but the material realm and fate have already
been bypassed by the souls under discussion.
The Adamas, now called the “Tyrant” (
), is back to his location in
the twelve aeons in 1/2PS, now clearly ruling over the Heimarmene and the sphere
rather than being imprisoned by them (1PS 24-25, 37-38).15 He takes an active role
in these texts, first by directly waging war against the light Jesus brings with him as
he enters into his realm.
The story of the Adamas and the other tyrants of the aeons reacting against
the light of Jesus and his garment is given four times (1PS 24-25; 26; 37-39; 40-41).
In the first and third case, the archons’ ignorance of the identity of whom they are
waging war against is highlighted, and an explanation of the way Jesus changed their
paths and influences is given. The second version is a shortened rendition of the
events, but all three of the versions mention that Jesus took a third of their power and
caused them all to be turned to the left for six months and to the right for six months
as they complete their periods of influence. Jeu remains the figure who placed them
in their original paths, but himself remains positive, despite the negative view of the
astrological science in these texts. All of the negative thrust is directed at the
Adamas and his followers.
This further ties the Adamas and the archons of the sphere and aeons to the
Heimarmene and astrological concerns. By confusing them and preventing their
wicked actions, Jesus has also removed power from “their astrologers and from their
soothsayers and from those who tell men who are in the world all things which will
happen…they will not understand anything which will happen so as to tell it” (1PS
27). Although still connected to fate, here the Adamas is the head of it, acting in the
realm of men through magic and astrological predictions.
The fourth version tells a slightly different story, although the result is the
same. In this case, when the various beings of the twelve aeons saw Jesus’ garment
of light, they all prostrated themselves, worshipping the light and singing praises to
the “innermost of the inner” (1PS 40). Only the tyrants found themselves with their
power diminished, and they “fell down in their aeons, and they became like men of
15
On the fluidity of the twelve aeons and the Heimarmene, see the discussion in Section 3.6.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
this world who are dead, having no breath within them” (1PS 41). A parallel to this
is found in the first version, where it says that they “became like the earth-dwellers
who are dead and have no breath in them” (1PS 25).
Despite the variations among the versions preserved here, the Adamas, as
head of the tyrants of the twelve aeons, represents evil through a combination of lust
for power, rebellion against the light, and ignorance. Although his wickedness is no
longer described in sexual terms as in 4PSa, that sexuality was in part associated with
production of the stars, of which he is here lord and master (even though in both
instances it is Jeu who originally set these bodies in their proper paths, according to
the will of the light). In both the early and later texts it is his refusal to defer to the
superior light that results in his being punished and a reduction of his power.
The final set of instances where the Adamas appears is in the repentances of
Pistis Sophia. After she has been afflicted by the figure Authades of the thirteenth
aeon and his emanations for some time, and has finally gotten some assistance from
the First Mystery, once again the antagonistic forces rally against her. This time
Adamas, the Tyrant, joins in to oppress her, as he is angry at her desire to surpass her
place and go to the Light of Lights. From his place in the twelve aeons, he too goes
down to Chaos to afflict her. However, she cries out to the light, and is enveloped in
a great outpouring of light that causes all of the evil emanations to be powerless
before her (2PS 138-142).
His inclusion here appears to be an afterthought,
necessary for the interpretation of the Psalm that is given to “predict” the events
described. The Adamas, ruler of the twelve aeons, represents the “demonic blow (or
destruction) at midday” of Ps. 91:6, for the twelfth aeon represents the hour of
midday (2PS 146). The primary villain of the tale is Authades, a ruler of the
thirteenth aeon, and Adamas disappears again after this interlude.16 Then, several
pages later in what appears to be a separate strand of tradition (or at least taken from
another source), Authades disappears and the Adamas becomes Pistis Sophia’s
primary antagonist for a final encounter (2PS 171-178). After the First Mystery
restrains the Adamas’ power in the Chaos, he believes that Pistis Sophia is
16
There is another brief mention in a song of praise, where he is denounced in conjunction with
Authades as Pistis Sophia’s oppressors (2PS 155). This may well be reflecting back on the episode
just described.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
responsible, and attacks her with his emanations to extract her light. She is pursued
by their darkness, calling out to the light to save her, until Jesus returns and lifts her
back into the thirteenth aeon where she belongs.
Mysteriously, the fate of the
Adamas is not described: one moment he is pursuing her; the next she is rescued by
Jesus and suddenly back in her rightful place, and the name of the Adamas is not
mentioned again. Although the individual may be rescued, his powers of fate and
ignorance in the world are never fully overcome. Here there is movement toward
anthropomorphizing his actions in emphasizing his ignorance, arrogance, and
jealousy, suitable to the narrative allegory of the Pistis Sophia’s fall and redemption.
As with the name Sabaoth, a figure called Adamas also appears in the Sethian
system.
However, like the figures discussed above, the natures of the Sethian
Adamas and the one found in the Jeuian texts are entirely different. In the Sethian
system Adamas is one of the high divine beings (ApJohn III 13,4; GosEg III 49,1819; 50,20-21; 51,5-6.21-22; 55,17-18; 65,15; IV 61,8-22; 62,18-19.30-31; 67,3-4;
77,11-12; Zost 6,26; 30,4-5; 51,14; StelesSeth 118,25-26; GosJud 48,21-26), the Son
of Man, the father of Seth, and closely connected with the divine triad. 17 The
ignorant, power-hungry, jealous Adamas of the Pistis Sophia could not be further
from this idealized figure.
In sum, the evil being first known by the compound name Sabaoth, the
Adamas, is primarily associated with fate and the zodiac or twelve aeons. Although
his position shifts from one of imprisonment in fate to ruler of the same, many of the
apparent modifications in his role seem to be tied with changing interpretations of
divine cosmology and the nature of the aeons/zodiac rather than innate changes in the
figure of Adamas himself. His sins are primarily a refusal to acknowledge the
mysteries or power of light, a lust for power, and the promulgation of ignorance,
sometimes represented as jealousy, sexual promiscuity, and arrogance. In the end,
Jesus reduces him and his fellow tyrants to a degree of impotence in his ascent with
the garments of light, accentuating the feebleness of these powers and the strength of
17
See also J.D. Turner, Sethian Gnosticism, 79. On the development of the Sethian Adamas myth, see
R. van den Broek, Studies in Gnosticism and Alexandrian Christianity (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996), 5666; also J. Verner Hansen, “Adamas and the Four Illuminators in Sethian Gnosticism,” in Rethinking
Religion: Studies in the Hellenistic Process, J. Podemann Sørensen, ed. (Museum Tusculanum Press,
1989), 55-72.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
Jesus and the First Mystery over and above them—although even so, through divine
decree their power is not completely destroyed. Ignorance remains rife in the human
world, and fate remains a part of the natural universe and the plan of the First
Mystery.
4.6 JESUS: REVEALER OF MYSTERIES WITH DIVINE LINEAGE
In all of the texts, Jesus serves as a teacher or instructor. He imparts to his disciples,
both male and female, information about the divine world that they will require to
progress to a higher state of being, as well as knowledge of the cosmic realms, their
inhabitants, and their functions. His own specific place in the divine hierarchy is
always tied closely to the highest entity.
In 1 Jeu, Jesus’ role consists of explaining the nature of the heavenly
demiurge and the cosmology of the heavens, beginning with the emanation of Jeu
from his Father and moving through the ranks of Jeu’s emanations.
The
unapproachable God is said to be Jesus’ Father, and Jesus calls upon his Father so
that he causes Jeu to bring the other emanations of the treasuries into existence (1 Jeu
51-52)—thus indirectly contributing to the formation of the universe. Jesus provides
the disciples with the names, seals and ciphers they will need to proceed through the
highest Treasuries. Overall, his role here is that of a high divine being acting as
savior of select humans, through the imparting of saving knowledge in the form of
the various mysteries of the Treasuries.
In 2 Jeu, again Jesus is a presenter of mysteries and bastion of knowledge of
the lower divine realms, explaining the information needed to pass through the aeons
in much the same way as that needed to proceed through the Treasuries in the first
book. Here, however, he also serves another more active function as baptizer. He
provides the bulk of the extensive list of plants and materials for offering, officiates
over the prayers, recites the necessary ‘imperishable’ names, and seals the disciples
with both the pre-and post-baptismal seals needed for complete purification. His
officiating appears to carry with it significant power, as in the final baptism of the
Holy Spirit he calls directly upon the power of his Father, the father of all
fatherhoods, to purify their iniquities. However, given the likelihood that these
rituals were meant to be reproduced for later readers/believers, it is possible that his
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
performance of this role in this text was meant to confer his own power and position
to those officiants who were to follow him.
In 4PSa, the position of Jesus’ Father becomes slightly unclear. He is still
called the “father of all fatherhoods” (4PSa 353) and the “Father of the Treasury of
the Light” (4PSa 370-371), but as previously mentioned, Jeu is now called the Father
of his Father as well. The distinction between his spiritual father (the First Mystery
or highest principle) and the father of his earthly soul (the Great Sabaoth, the Good)
has already been discussed, with Jeu as the father of the Great Sabaoth. Jesus
himself maintains his position as revealer of knowledge, this time focusing
considerably on the archons and types of punishment for sinful souls in addition to
the organization of the visible celestial realm. Shifting from imparting the mysteries
to avoid being held back from the heights, in both 4PSa and 4PSb he now warns
about what will happen to those who do not cease in sins and do not receive the
mysteries. Furthermore, in 4PSa he is again shown as baptizing the disciples (4PSa
369-371), but the rite itself is much simplified in comparison with the previous
baptismal prescriptions. The baptismal prayer again calls out to his “Father,” but at
the same time the disciples are explicitly instructed to perform this ritual for other
worthy believers (4PSa 372), further supporting the notion that his performance of
the rite in the text was meant to add performative authority to later officiants.
Despite the ambiguous position of his father, the role of Jesus himself remains stable
as an imparter of divine knowledge and ritual practice.
In 3PS, Jesus (or the “Savior”) no longer has specific rituals to impart, nor is
there focus on the specific structure or inhabitants of the divine or sub-divine realms.
Instead he discusses the formation of human bodies and souls, and other concerns
regarding the imparting of mysteries to believers and the cycles of souls. 1/2PS
present a lengthy discourse both about the hierarchy of mysteries and a myth of the
fall and redemption of Pistis Sophia. Jesus presents her prayers or “repentances” and
the disciples respond with Psalms which had prophesized them. Jesus also discusses
the earthly conceptions of himself, John the Baptist, and the disciples, setting them
apart from normal men as beings who had divine powers cast into their bodies rather
than the archons’ counterfeit spirits. Perhaps most interesting is the fact that here
Jesus takes his most active role—for in 1PS, it explains that he ascended through the
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
aeons and personally defeated all the archons of the aeons with his mystery. In
addition, the first book makes a point of stating that Jesus had imparted but a tiny
fraction of the necessary mysteries to his disciples by the eleventh year after his
resurrection. It lists a number of mysteries he had not yet mentioned that are also
said to be key in the Books of Jeu of the Bruce Codex. In 2PS, Jesus mentions the
“two great Books of Jeu” and states that the mysteries they contain are exceedingly
numerous, but that some of them are inferior and essentially unnecessary in the face
of the great mysteries which he will give them and which are superior (2PS 246247).
This is at odds with his statement in 3PS that “even for the righteous
themselves who have never done evil, and have not committed sins at all, it is
necessary that they should find the mysteries which are in the Books of Jeu” (3PS
349). Even if some of the mysteries in the “Books of Jeu” are still considered
necessary later, the fact that others are now regarded as obsolete suggests that a
process of streamlining and simplification of mysteries was taking place. This is also
evident in the simplification of the baptismal instructions between 2 Jeu and 4PSa.
In sum, Jesus’ role throughout all of the texts is primarily one of a heavenly
being imparting divine knowledge and mysteries to select individuals—in this case
the disciples, who themselves rise in prestige until in the final texts they are also said
to have heavenly origins.
The disciples in turn are instructed to pass on this
knowledge to people who demonstrate clear signs of their fidelity to the core beliefs
of the group.
As the texts progress, previously imparted mysteries evidently
decrease in importance in the face of higher but somewhat simpler ones.
Furthermore, Jesus acts as an officiant of key rituals, primarily baptisms. In the first
example of this role, the rituals are highly complex; however in a later text the ritual
he performs is simplified, and is specifically reported as something to be reproduced
by the disciples for other true believers. His performance of the rituals appears to be
a device meant to give later officiants his authority. In all cases, Jesus is directly
associated with the highest entity in existence, and the salvation of any soul is
impossible without the information he provides—although in the final texts,
interpretations of more mainstream texts and concepts in light of the mythos of the
group also take a prominent role in his discourse, apparently attempting to maintain
the group’s relevance in a changing religious climate.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
4.7 CONCLUSION
There are many obvious differences between the earliest and the latest Jeuian texts.
Cosmological ideas undergo shifts; astrology becomes demonized; and claims to
apostolic lineage and interpretation of Scripture become key in validating the group’s
authority. As will be explored in Ch. 6, these changes likely represent ongoing
developments in the group’s cultural environment and its efforts to engage with the
ideas and issues that went with them. However, the underlying myths and principles
remain essentially the same. In addition to consistent allusions to the mysteries, a
close reading also reveals stability in the roles of various divine figures. From the
beginning to the end, Jeu is the one who organizes the visible stars; Melchisedek
transports purified light, baptismal elements, and souls; the Great Sabaoth, the Good
is the Father of Jesus’ human soul and likely the god of the Bible; the Little Sabaoth,
the Good dwells in the Midst and helps human souls escape the punishments of the
archons and find wisdom; Sabaoth the Adamas is the wicked archon tied up in fate
and struggling to keep humanity imprisoned in it; and Jesus himself derives from the
highest principle and serves to free humanity from the world by imparting the
mysteries of the divine realms. These figures appear in greater or lesser relief
depending on the focus of a given text, but a basic consistency can be traced from the
earliest to the latest points of tradition now available.
By demonstrating the underlying framework that forms the main roles of key
figures across these texts, the idea is supported that these works do in fact stem from
a shared tradition transmitted over time. Despite the apparent minor changes and
cosmological adjustments, the main figures—and the ideas they represent—remain
on a steady plane, suggesting a reasonably coherent theological system. From the
earliest to the latest textual evidence remaining, the universe was organized by the
same basically benevolent figure; evil is represented by the same tyrant, and the only
way to salvation is through the mysteries provided to humanity through the
compassionate descent of the Savior or First Mystery. That this was not merely an
intellectual tradition, but rather a set of beliefs and practices preserved by a
community, is suggested by the strong role played by rituals with Jesus’
accompanying exhortation that they be performed for others.
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CHAPTER 4 • IMPORTANT FIGURES
Although certain terminology or names of certain figures also appear in other
non-mainstream esoteric Christian traditions, their roles within these texts are
unique. Despite evidence of interaction with outside myths and beliefs, the core
system developed and was maintained separately from other forms of Christian or
demiurgical strands of thought. While the depiction of the universe and its workings
was affected and modified by outside notions, and ritual practices may have changed
and simplified—a phenomenon not unknown in mainstream Christianity—
throughout its history this group preserved the core of its beliefs and practices.
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CHAPTER 5
DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU: CREATION,
IDENTIFICATION, AND ASCENSION
The large number of diagrams in the Books of Jeu is one of the most noteworthy—
and fascinating—aspects of these texts. It is the only extant early non-mainstream
esoteric Christian document containing diagrams or images. That even among the
paucity of scholarship on the texts so little has been written on them is a testament to
their mysteriousness and obscurity. P.C. Finney notes these pictures “have nothing
to do with the world as we know it. They are conceptual images, abstracted from
nature and nonrepresentational.”1 Unfortunately, the concepts they depict are quite
esoteric and largely lost, in part never to be recovered due to the poor state of the
manuscript. Thus this chapter must begin with the cautionary statement that what
follows is not an attempt at a definitive interpretation of their meaning. Rather, it is
an opening investigation into what will hopefully result in a scholarly conversation
on their possible significance in the context of their users.
The fact that so many diagrams are included in these two texts is evidence of
their importance in the beliefs and practices of the group that utilized them. That
they are meticulously given in extensive systematic patterns demonstrates how vital
they were considered to be—it was necessary to have knowledge of the whole
system, including the characters and seals of each individual head or ruler. Even in
the Pistis Sophia texts, which do not themselves include such diagrams, knowledge
of them is presumed necessary (2PS 247; 3PS 289-291). Despite the suggestion that
some aspects of these mysteries might in the later stages of the group’s development
be considered unnecessary, the mysteries Jesus promises to present the disciples still
include “the heads of the mysteries…in all their types and their ciphers and the seals
of the last space” (2PS 247). This strongly reflects the traditions found in 1 Jeu
especially, as each treasury has a head and an associated seal and cipher, and indeed
in that text Jeu’s development is described in terms of types. It is thus probable that
2PS still considers the material contained in 1 Jeu, if not 2 Jeu as well, to be
1
P.C. Finney, “Did Gnostics Make Pictures?”, 437; in The Rediscovery of Gnosticism: Proceedings of
the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, March 28-31, 1978,
Vol. 1, B. Layton, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1980), 434-454.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
necessary for the soul’s ascent and salvation. Knowledge of the diagrams and their
use is therefore necessary for an understanding of the system of the Jeuian texts as a
whole.
Although similar symbols with comparable usage abound in the Medieval
and Renaissance periods,2 there are few other surviving examples from the period in
which the Jeuian texts likely arose. Since it is impossible to determine whether a
continuous tradition or mindset existed between these periods, the focus shall remain
on the diagrams present in the Books of Jeu themselves. 3 Some preliminary
discussion of the use of mystical diagrams and images in the Greco-Roman period
will, however, provide a helpful introduction to the topic.
5.1 RELIGIOUS AND MAGICAL USE OF SEALS, DIAGRAMS AND IMAGES
5.1.1
Hekhalot or Jewish Ascent Literature
Hekhalot literature can be defined as “the pre-kabbalistic corpus of mystical texts
that give instructions on how to ascend (or ‘descend’) to the celestial ‘palaces’ or the
‘merkabah,’ God’s heavenly throne-chariot,” elements of which can be identified
from as early as the fifth to seventh centuries of the Common Era.4 The Hekhalot, or
palaces of the divine world, may suggest images similar to the treasuries to be
traversed in 1 Jeu. The palaces each have angelic guardians, whose names the
person ascending must memorize and to which they must show the appropriate seals:
“The name of each one (angel)—you show to him his seal and he brings you into his
palace.”5 However, it is not clear of what the seals consisted, and their images are
2
See, for example, the Picatrix (10th/11th century), Peter de Abano’s Heptameron seu elementa
magica (1496), Johannes Trithemius’ Steganographia (1500), Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa’s Occulta
Philosophia (1533), John Dee’s Monas Hieroglyphica (1564), the Arbatel de magia veterum (1575),
The Lesser Key of Solomon.
3
When possible, the image from the codex will be included, but frequently the manuscript has
become so damaged the images have not been preserved. In those cases C. Schmidt’s reconstructions
will be included, which are in turn often based on C.G. Woide and M.G. Schwartze’s transcriptions,
done when the manuscript was in better condition. They are the form most scholars have used to this
point; however, frequently they are not an accurate reflection of the original.
4
J.R. Davila, “The Ancient Jewish Apocalypses and the Hekhalot Literature,” 105, in Paradise Now:
Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism, A.D. DeConick, ed. (Atlanta: Society of Biblical
Literature, 2006), 105-125.
5
Hekhalot Zutarti, §413, quoted in R.M. Lesses, Ritual Practices to Gain Power: Angels,
Incantations and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International,
1998), 257.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
not depicted. They may have been written directly on the body, or on pieces of paper
attached to the body, or some object held in the hands, or indeed engraved on rings.6
They are described, however, “as magical names, either of the angels or of the
aspects of the godhead, that must be shown as passports to the gate-keepers at the
entrances to the seven palaces.” 7 In both 1 and 2 Jeu, the instructions for safe
passage through the aeons and treasuries involves a ψῆφος, a pebble, on which is
inscribed a specific number which likely represents some sort of name or phrase of
power.8 In these instructions, the seal-diagram, its name, and the cipher-number are
all closely connected both in the text and in the ascension procedure. G. Scholem
noted the parallels between the display of seals to guardians in the Hekhalot texts and
the Books of Jeu, and the attribution of a name to each of the seals, proposing an
originally Hebrew origin for the formulas accompanying the baptismal seals.9
The idea of holding a sign or amulet in the hands is also found in Jewish
adjuration formulae, as it is in the ascent instructions in both 1 and 2 Jeu. For
example, a Coptic adjuration for help calls upon Gabriel, insisting that he come “on
account of the seal of Adonai, the father, and the fourteen amulets that are in my
right hand.” 10
R.M. Lesses observes that as the text also refers to fourteen
firmaments, a correspondence between the amulets and the firmaments is likely.11
Although this is a calling down of powers to earth rather than an ascension, still as in
the Books of Jeu each region has its own individual sign that must be known and
possessed in order to deal with it. The necessity of holding these symbols in one or
more hands—as opposed to worn around the neck or otherwise displayed—is another
connection in the ritual practice; for at every level of the aeons and treasuries, the
6
R.M. Lesses, Ritual Practices to Gain Power, 317-319.
G. Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism and Talmudic Tradition (2nd ed.; New York:
JTSA, 1961), 32-33.
8
The use of numbers to represent particular names was common in ancient magic; one of the best
examples of this is Βαινχωωωχ, the numerical value of whose name, 3663, appears in place of the
name in certain magical papyri. For the stone/name connection compare also Rev. 2:17, where the
saints are promised a stone with a secret name written upon it.
9
See G. Scholem, “Über eine Formel in den koptisch-gnostischen Schriften und ihren jüdischen
Ursprung,” in Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche 30
(1931), 170-176.
10
M. Meyer and R. Smith, Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (San Francisco:
Harper, 1994) 136-137; cited in R.M. Lesses, Ritual Practices to Gain Power, 320.
11
R.M. Lesses, Ritual Practices to Gain Power, 320.
7
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
cipher-pebble must be held “in your hand(s).” The connection between physical
amulets and the heavenly regions shall be discussed with the magical gems below.
5.1.2
Greco-Roman Magic
Although
images
Figure 5.1: Magic Gems with Characters
and magical signs
abound in the Greek
Magical Papyri and
gems, none of them
provide
a
parallel
for
direct
the
diagrams found in
the Books of Jeu.
Many
of
them
Source: A. Delatte and Ph.
Derchain, Les intailles magiques
gréco-égyptiennes (Paris:
Bibliotheque Nationale, 1964),
no. 170.
Slg. Skoluda MN068
Source: S. Michel, Bunte Steine dunkle Bilder: magische Gemmen
(München: Biering and
Brinkmann, 2001), no. 102
feature drawings of
gods or demons with formulaic writing around them, anthropomorphic or
zoomorphic representations participating in the magical action—far from the abstract
imagery guaranteeing safe passage in a religious mystical ascent. It is, however,
worthwhile to briefly discuss the use of symbols, or “characters,” found frequently in
both the papyri and the gems. Although many of them look like modifications of
Greek letters, one of the most common symbols is an eight-pointed star consisting of
four crossed lines with circles at each point.12 The eight-pointed star has prehistoric
origins, but is perhaps best known from its association with the Babylonian goddess
Ištar, from the Old Babylonian to Neo-Babylonian periods.13 In the context of these
later gems and magic, A.A. Barb gives its origin as the Babylonian determinative for
names of gods.14 The eight-pointed figure is certainly viewed as a powerful one for
12
See C. Bonner, Studies in Magical Amulets, Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1950), 194-195.
13
F. Rochberg, “Heaven and Earth: Divine-Human Relations in Mesopotamian Celestial Divination,”
174n.20, in Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World, S. Noegel, J. Walker,
and B. Wheeler eds. (University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003),
169-186.
14
“Diva Matrix: A faked gnostic intaglio in the possession of P.P. Rubens and the iconology of a
symbol,” 216n.48, in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 16 (1953), 193-238.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
ascension past particular celestial entities found in 1 and 2 Jeu, as shall be seen
below.
Figure 5.2: Sample Characters
The specific meaning of the characters is
unknown, but it is clear that they were
widespread—they
“entered
the
magical
traditions of all late-antique and medieval
peoples,
languages,
and
religions—from
Ethiopia to Armenia and from Al-Andalus to
Yemen.”15 Despite the dating of much of the
material being uncertain, the fact that it is so
widespread suggests that even in later texts,
earlier traditions may still be present. They
could be used as individual symbols, or
A Geniza fragment, with an attempt to
“decipher” the characters as letters of the
Hebrew alphabet. (Source: Bohak,
Ancient Jewish Magic, 275).
grouped together as a mystical alphabet. This
latter usage was the subject of much
speculation among later people, with many
attempts made to decipher their code through ascribing each sign an alphabetic
equivalent.16
Greco-Egyptian magic was most likely their ultimate origin, and the presence
of similar diagrams for sealing and ascent purposes in the Books of Jeu comes as
little surprise. That the eight-pointed figure in particular is so prevalent both in the
magical gems/papyri and the Books of Jeu especially speaks to the symbolic
importance accorded to it. The fact that in the context of 2 Jeu it primarily appears
in the category of “seals” (as opposed to types or characters, which will be discussed
below) suggests that the Jeuian author viewed it as particularly efficacious in an
amuletic sense, as the seals are presented to give protection from potentially hostile
beings and to gain access to higher regions.
15
16
G. Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 271.
G. Bohak, Ancient Jewish Magic, 274.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
Beyond the prevalence of the eight-pointed star figure, a few other magical
gems feature some intriguing patterns (Figure 5.3). The one on the left is similar to
some of the character
diagrams in 1 Jeu, while
Figure 5.3: Comparison of Gems and Figures from
the Books of Jeu
the one on the right
bears a resemblance to
some of the seals given
for the ascent through
the twelve aeons in 2
Jeu.
The latter in
particular is interesting
given
the
two
stars
pictured
with
the
diagram,
and
the
Brit. Mus. Inv. G 233, EA 56233.
Source: S. Michel, Die
Magischen Gemmen im Britische
Museum - Band I Text (London:
The British Museum Press,
2001), no.227
Brit. Mus. Inv. G 1986,51,152
Source: S. Michel, Die
Magischen Gemmen im
Britische Museum, no.560.
“Character” for Jeu 23 (1 Jeu)
Seal for 9th aeon (2 Jeu –
Schmidt’s reproduction)
potential connection of
the aeons with a celestial
ascent/star
Solar
and
journey.
stellar
associations are fairly
common among the gems. This is not to argue that these gems are associated with
the Jeuian group, but simply to point out the presence of similar motifs. The function
of the gems is uncertain; however, it has already been noted that the instructions for
passing through both the aeons and the treasuries include holding a ψῆφος, a pebble,
on which is inscribed a specific number that likely stands for a name. There is a
possibility that the seal might also be engraved on such a stone for use in ascension.
5.1.3
The Ophite Diagram
Despite being the most famous diagram in the history of “Gnosticism,” this figure is
not actually preserved. The extensive description of it given by Origen in Contra
Celsum is not entirely clear, and has resulted in an impressive variety of
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
reconstructions by scholars. 17 The section actually seems to give two separate
descriptions, that of Celsus and that of Origen, the two accounts differing in certain
respects. The diagram consisted of circles representing a map of the celestial (and
possibly supracelestial18) regions, and other images that may have represented seals
to be used in the ascent ceremony.19
Figure 5.4: Sample of Restorations of the Ophite Diagram
J. Arendzen,
“Gnosticism,” in The
Catholic Encyclopedia 6
(New York: Appleton,
1909) 592-602.
B. Witte, Das Ophitendiagramm
nach Origenes’ Contra Celsum
(Altenberge: Oros, 1993) 140-148.
A. Mastrocinque, From Jewish
Magic to Gnosticism (Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2005) 101.
The diagram was accompanied by the names and descriptions of the seven planetary
archons as well as passwords to pass by them.20 It may have served as an aid for the
journey of the soul through the various regions, either as a postmortem or a
meditative ascent.21 This is in conjunction with a “sealing” or anointing, which also
17
For a collection of the different modern scholarly renderings, see plates 1-9 in T. Rasimus, Paradise
Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the Ophite Evidence (Leiden:
Brill, 2009).
18
Scholars who feel that the supracelestial realms are included in the diagram include A.
Mastrocinque, From Jewish Magic to Gnosticism, 96-101; A.H.B. Logan, The Gnostics: Identifying
an Early Christian Cult (London: T&T Clark, 2006), 43; T. Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered, 244.
19
A.D. DeConick, “The Road for Souls Is Through the Planets: The Mysteries of the Ophites
Mapped,” in Practicing Gnosis: Ritual, Magic, Theurgy and Liturgy in Nag Hammadi, Manichaean
and Other Late Antique Literature. Essays in Honor of Birger A. Pearson, A.D. DeConick, G. Shaw,
and J.D. Turner, eds. (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming).
20
Origen, Cels 6.22-38.
21
Some scholars argue that the text may present a descent rather than an ascent, as Origen presents the
passwords in order from outermost to innermost (B. Witte, Das Ophitendiagramm nach Origenes'
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
might be associated with a deathbed ritual 22 or an initiation rite. 23 There is little
scholarly agreement on these issues; 24 however, these possibilities are parallel to
those of the rituals and ascent descriptions found in 1 and 2 Jeu. The baptisms, with
their sealings of the disciples, appear to be initiatory rather than deathbed
purifications—as is likely the case with the Ophite sealing, which is set up by Celsus
as a parallel to Mithraic initiation rites (Origen, Cels 6.22). Indeed, the term “seal”
was used in the early church to refer to baptism or part of the initiation ceremony.25
However, the ascent procedure is more vague. The instructions are most likely for
use in an ultimate postmortem journey, possibly prefigured by one or more ecstatic
or meditative journeys.26 This again seems to be the most probable interpretation for
the Ophite diagram’s usage, as well. After having been sealed or purified in life, the
names or passwords must be memorized before the lengthy journey of the soul past a
variety of cosmic pitfalls.27 Celsus’ description of certain people returning “into the
archontic forms so that some become lions, some bulls, and other serpents or eagles
or bears or dogs” (Origen, Cels 6.33) seems to suggest a notion of theriomorphic
reincarnation for those who do not successfully complete the postmortem ascent.
The Ophite diagram could serve as a contemplative tool, a map, and a
memorization aid for the series of passwords to be presented. Although the Books of
Jeu do not present an overall pictorial cosmological map, the Jeu-diagrams in 1 Jeu
Contra Celsum VI 22-38 (Altenberge: Oros, 1993), 35-39, 101-102, 113, 125-128. However, it is
possible that Origen simply read them in order from the top to the bottom of the list, without
implication for the ritual order.
22
T. Hopfner, “Das Diagramm der Ophiten,” 88-89, in Charisteria Alois Rzach zum Achtzigsten
Geburtstag dargebracht (Reichenberg: Stiepel, 1930), 86-98; N. Denzey, “Stalking Those Elusive
Ophites: The Ophite Diagrams Reconsidered,” 98, 105-106; in Essays in Honour of Frederik Wisse,
ARC: The Journal of the Faculty of Religious Studies 33 (2005), 89-122; A.H.B. Logan, The Gnostics,
41-42. Denzey also suggests that the two diagrams described might have been for different purposes,
one for a mortuary ritual and one for a living ecstatic ascent (115).
23
B. Witte, Das Ophitendiagramm, 39, 101-102; T. Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered, 249-255; A.D.
DeConick, “The Road for Souls Is Through the Planets.”
24
For a discussion of arguments for both sides, see T. Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered, 244-250.
25
H. Chadwick, Origen: Contra Celsum (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965), 342n1; E.
Ferguson, Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries
(Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2009), especially 312-313 and 338-339. On the “Gnostic” mystery of the five
seals as initiation, see A.H.B. Logan, “The Mystery of the Five Seals: Gnostic Initiation
Reconsidered,” in Vigiliae Christianae 51 (1997), 188-206.
26
On the prevalence of this combination of themes in the Hellenistic world, see A.F. Segal, “Heavenly
Ascent in Hellenistic Judaism, Early Christianity and their Environment,” in Aufstieg und Niedergang
der Römischen Welt Vol. 2.23.2, ed. W. Haase (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1980), 1333-1394.
27
T. Rasimus, Paradise Reconsidered, 277.
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would seem to serve a similar purpose, outlining the various levels, depicting which
watchers or guardians are where, and laying out in order the other contents and
residents at each stage.28 At any rate, the preservation of discussion on the Ophite
diagram, known both to certain pagans and Christians, demonstrates that among
certain sects in the second and third centuries, diagrams were an accepted mode of
religious instruction and practice, particularly as ascent preparation. The Jeuians,
while certainly not Ophite, clearly embraced a version of this method for
presentation of the divine realms.
5.2 DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
As A.F. Segal observes, “knowing the origin tells us something about a cultural item
but it falls far short of an adequate description of its meaning in any particular
culture.”29 Knowing something about the use of seals and diagrams in wider GrecoRoman religious culture, and even within other branches of non-mainstream
Christianity, is helpful; however, the group that produced the Books of Jeu did so on
their own terms. Thus, having touched on a number of ancient contexts in which
seals or mystical diagrams were used, an analysis of the images found in the Books of
Jeu themselves shall now be presented.30 These can be subdivided into categories:
“types” (
) of Jeu; “characters” (C
treasuries; and “seals” (
5.2.1
) of each of the Jeu-beings in the
) used in baptism and ascent.
The Types of Jeu
These appear only in the beginning of 1 Jeu, and refer to the phases of Jeu prior to
his emanation of the entities populating all of the treasuries. The final types also
possess characters, suggesting that the following phases flow naturally from these
initial forms. In Figure 5.5 below both the images from the codex and those from C.
Schmidt’s reconstruction will be included, as significant differences are present
28
See Section 3.2.
A. F. Segal, Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in the Religions of the West (New York:
Doubleday, 2004), 175.
30
On the diagrams or treasury outlines accompanying the character diagrams, see Section 3.2.
29
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
between the originals and reconstructions which have affected past scholars’
interpretations.
Figure 5.5: Types of Jeu
Type before he was moved
to bring forth emanations
Type when he will bring
forth emanations
Type if he brings forth
Top: Type before he
emanated
Bottom: His character (on
his face)
The first voice; Jeu 1 (first of
the treasury diagrams, with
character below)
Type when he has emanated
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
G.R.S. Mead proposes that squares represent substance while circles represent gods
or energy.31 This is a reasonable suggestion, as the squares containing the names in
the following treasury diagrams do indeed seem to be representative of locations,
depicting the gates and setup of each region, while the character-diagrams, which
consist primarily of circular or ovoid shapes, are associated with the entity at the
head of each region. However, it should be noted that certain character diagrams
also utilize square or rectangular forms, and it is unlikely that a blending of substance
and energy is implied in that handful of instances. His further suggestion that the
three lines in the first two types, which are described in the text as the voices Jeu will
give forth to sing praises to the Father and thus emanate, “represent the potential
triad or trinity latent in all manifestation, and this triad acting within the tetrad of the
squares produces the infinite ordering into twelves or dodecads,” 32 is apparently
based on the faulty copying of the post-emanation diagram found in Schmidt’s
edition, which in actuality has seven squares.33 His description of the third type as
resembling a spermatozoon with an ovum of three concentric circles, all representing
the manifestation of only one of the three voices, is also interesting but
questionable.34
The diagrams appear to present a progression. The first type, before Jeu is
-
moved to emanate (
up as he is moved and about to bring forth emanations (
). If he brings forth (
(
), opens
-
), or as he is about to emanate
), it seems that the three voice-lines emerge from the central
circle, and form concentric circles around a central kernel. The smaller diagram to
the left may represent this emerging, with a line coming forth from the central circle.
These diagrams appear to represent the potential for emanation, which shortly comes
to fruition.
31
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (1905; reprint: New York: University Books, 1960),
536.
32
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 536.
33
Although it might be a reference to the four squares of the first treasury diagram, it is apparent from
his descriptions that he is working with Schmidt’s reproductions rather than the originals.
34
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten, 536. Note that sperm cells were not discovered until
the 17th century.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
The following diagram is essentially identical to the previous type, now
described as being before he emanates (
). This highlights
the imminence of the forthcoming emanation, which immediately follows. The
inclusion of his character diagram (said to be on his face) here further acts as a
reflection of what is to come.
The seven concentric circles that make up his
character appear to transform for the production of the first treasury: as the Father
moves him, he gives voice; and “when he had given voice, there came forth this
voice which is the emanation. It was of this type as it proceeded forth from one side
after another of each treasury” (1 Jeu 51). The following diagram represents that
voice, which is the prototype for the following treasury diagrams/maps. There are
four concentric squares and three concentric circles, both of which contain the name
of Jeu—perhaps a reflection of the pouring forth of Jeu’s original character, which
consisted of seven concentric circles. It is labeled as his place, or topos, suggesting
the locative or physical nature of the treasury diagrams. Finally, there appears his
type when he has emanated (
): now all seven circles are
represented as squares complete with gates (represented by alphas), containing the
name of Jeu “in the tongue of [Jesus’] Father”,
C
Jeu, as it
was given in the text prior to his emanating. His transformation from potential to
actual ruler of the treasuries is complete. It still remains, however, for the ranks of
the treasuries to come forth and populate them. Again the Father moves him, and Jeu
again gives voice from his place, moving his own emanations to emanate. Thus the
discussion shifts from the true god to his emanations, and their emanations which fill
the remaining treasuries.
5.2.2
Characters of the Heads of the Treasuries
Each of the treasuries is home to a multitude of emanations, ruled by a being with a
mystery name suffixed with the name Jeu. This ruler is depicted in the center of the
treasury map, with pathways leading to him covered by veils and guarded by
watchers. In each instance, below this representation of the treasury layout there is a
diagram representing the character of that treasury’s head. The character diagrams
share many characteristics with the types discussed above. They frequently consist
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
of concentric circles of varying numbers. Some are divided by spokes or diameters;
some have squares or rectangles; and some depict vowels as part of the pattern.
Figure 5.6: Characters of the Treasury Rulers
Jeu 2
Jeu 3
Jeu 4
Jeu 5
Jeu 6
Jeu 7
Jeu 8
Jeu 9
Jeu 10
Jeu 11
Jeu 12
Jeu 14
Jeu 15
Jeu 16
Jeu 17
Jeu 18
Jeu 19
Jeu 20
Jeu 21
Jeu 22
Jeu 23
Jeu 24
Jeu 25
Jeu 26
Jeu 27
Jeu 28
No information is given as to the use of these symbols; the text simply labels each,
“His character.” It is likely that as with the character of the first Jeu, these are
represented on their faces. This could suggest that they represent identifying marks
on the Jeu-entities themselves, as opposed to the seals which are shown for
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
permission to pass through their realms. The system by which the characters were
derived, however, remains obscure, and with over half of them missing, any
interpretation will remain hypothetical. It should be noted that their use is dissimilar
to the more typical Greco-Roman magical use of the term “characteres,” which as
discussed above usually refers to a sort of magical alphabet that often appears in
sequences of several in a row. In addition to being visually dissimilar, these are
symbols of entities, not meant as an alphabetic code.
They are presented
individually, perhaps as identifying marks for the beings to be encountered along the
ascension path. Given that this entire section appears to serve as a map, this usage
would be logical.
5.2.3
Seals
As opposed to the types and characters, which appear to be primarily symbolic or
representational, seals are used in practical or ritual contexts. There are three types
of instances in which seals are used: ascension through the treasuries (1 Jeu),
ascension through the aeons (2 Jeu), and in the course of the baptisms/mystery to
remove the evil of the archons (2 Jeu). The usage of the seals for both levels of
ascension is similar, although the texts are separate and use slightly different
procedures.
5.2.3.1
Treasury Seals
The treasury seals are part of a set of information required to pass through each
treasury en route to the place of the true god. In addition to the seal with which one
must seal oneself, there is also the name of the seal to be recited once; a “cipher,” or
number likely inscribed on a pebble, which must be held in one hand; and a second
name that must be recited three times. That the ascender must seal himself with the
seal lends the diagrams a more active ritual purpose. The use of names/seals in
conjunction with a mystical ascent in Hekhalot literature, and the necessity of
holding signs or amulets in hand in certain adjuration contexts, have been discussed
above.35 All of the elements here combine to display the knowledge of the ascender,
which in turn conveys his worthiness to ascend. When the signs are shown and the
35
Section 5.1.1.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
proper words recited, all of the guardians move away, allowing passage through the
treasury.
Figure 5.7: Treasury Seals and their Names
54th(?) Treasury
Seal Name:
C
Cipher:
(70331)
Recite (thrice):
57th Treasury
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(90419)
Recite (thrice):
55th(?) Treasury
Seal Name:
Cipher: C
(600515)
Recite (thrice):
58th Treasury
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(70122)
Recite (thrice):
56th Treasury
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(90410)
Recite (thrice):
59th Treasury
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(90187)
Recite (thrice):
60th Treasury
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(30885)
Recite (thrice):
In contrast to the circle patterns of the types and characters discussed so far, the seals
consist primarily of straight lines and angular figures. Also coming to the fore are
the spoke- or star-patterns, generally of eight points, which are furthermore of great
importance among the aeon ascension seals. It is possible these seals were meant to
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
be carved into a pebble or gem, perhaps along with the accompanying ciphernumber, which would be carried to impress the seal on the bearer at the correct
station. The term seal, or σφραγίς, in addition to an impression or mark, also refers
to the stone or signet of a seal-ring.36 The prominence of engraved gemstones with
amuletic roles in Greco-Roman culture, some with patterns similar to those of these
seals, has been seen above. That physical objects would be considered part of the
preparation for what is most likely a post-mortem ascent is not entirely surprising,
when one considers the Egyptian practice of leaving items with the deceased—
including copies of the Book of the Dead, in case the person required help
remembering the long and complex series of names and spells to be recited at the
proper junctures. 37 The “Orphic” gold lamellae represent examples of GrecoRoman-era texts for aid in the post-mortem journey; one might also consider the
Greco-Roman practice of placing a coin in the mouth of the deceased, to pay for the
ferry ride across the river Styx.
5.2.3.2
Aeon Seals
The aeon seals share many characteristics with the treasury seals, including the
prevalence of straight lines or star patterns, and their inclusion in formulas for
practical use in ascension.
Instead of the one name to be repeated thrice as in the treasury pattern, here
there are three additional names to be called upon after the presentation of the seal,
name, and cipher.38 The cipher is now to be held in both hands, rather than just one.
It is interesting to note that the ciphers, up to the 9th aeon, begin with the numeral
corresponding to the aeon.39 Furthermore, the number of digits is apparently not the
important factor, as the 8th aeon has only a number with tens and ones after the first
numeral 8, signifying its position in the eighth spot.
36
See the definition in Liddell and Scott, Greek-English Lexicon, (7th ed. 1883) 1513-1514.
Although the Book of the Dead ceased to be used as a corpus of funerary literature in the first
century BCE (J.H. Taylor, Journey through the afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead [London:
The British Museum Press, 2010], 59), motifs from it continued to be utilized.
38
The number of names is longer in the 13th and 14th aeons. The pattern for the first twelve may be
related to their connection with the zodiac, and an association of the 36 decanal stars with these
regions. See Ch. 6.
39
The first digit of the 9th aeon cipher is currently missing. Schmidt tentatively proposed as the first
digit, but given the preceding pattern is more logical, and could easily be mistaken for a .
37
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
Figure 5.8: Aeon Seals and their Names
1st Aeon
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(1119)
2nd Aeon
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(2219)
5th Aeon
Seal Name:
a
Cipher:
(5369)
6th Aeon
Seal Name:
z C
Cipher: ^
(6115)
9th Aeon
Seal Name:
z
Cipher: ( )
(9889)
10th Aeon
Seal Name:
13th Aeon
Seal Name:
z
Cipher:
(8855)
Cipher:
(4559)
14th Aeon
Seal Name:
z
Cipher:
C
(9869)
3rd Aeon
Seal Name:
z
Cipher:
(3349)
4th Aeon
Seal Name:
a
Cipher:
(4555)
7th Aeon
Seal Name:
(7889)
8th Aeon
Seal Name:
z
Cipher:
(8[-]54)
11th Aeon
Seal Name:
z
Cipher:
(5558)
12th Aeon
Seal Name:
z
&&&
Cipher:
(9885)
C
Cipher:
(?) – Triple
Powers
Seal Name:
Cipher:
(5555)
That no less than four of the seals consist of versions of the eight-pointed star
demonstrates the significance of this figure. It clearly represents a powerful emblem
for protection in these dangerous realms. Its use in the seals for the treasuries as well
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
confirms the belief in its potency for ascent past supraterrestrial beings by the group
producing these texts. There may be some clue to origins of parts of the diagrams in
Egyptian hieroglyphics: for example, the symbol for the sun
, or pillar , several of
which in early times were envisioned to be supporting heaven.40 Given the apparent
Egyptian provenance for the origins of the group, this is an attractive possibility;
however, the fact that only parts of the diagrams have such potential influence, and
the likely temporal distance of the group from a setting where the hieroglyphs would
be well-known, raise caution in embracing such a suggestion. In any case, the use of
the symbols in the context of the seals is obscure, and any deeper interpretations of
their meanings remain hypothetical.
5.2.3.3
Baptismal Seals
Detailed accounts of three baptisms (of water, fire, and Holy Spirit) and a further
“mystery to remove the evil of the archons” are preserved in 2 Jeu, each of which
involves two sealings: the first after an offering and preparation of the participants
but before the prayer, and the second presented after the completion of the baptism or
mystery and the ritual meal. Those used in the middle of the rite are given a “true
name,” reminiscent of those of the seals used in ascent, and also an “interpretation,”
which takes the form of another word or name. It is possible that the use of two
names is related to a Hebrew formula that presented a secret name and an expressible
name of certain entities, which became garbled in translation into Greek.41 That this
seal is presented prior to the prayer may suggest that this was used as a symbol of
knowledge and worthiness to the entities to be invoked, similar to the aeon and
treasury seals. The first seals consist of circles of branches similar to the star
emblems used so frequently in the ascent seals—and the seal of the third baptism
features the eight-branch star itself. 42 The first two may have solar and lunar
40
E.A.W. Budge, The Egyptian Book of the Dead (1895; reprint: New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,
1967), ci.
41
G. Scholem, “Über eine Formel,” 175-176.
42
M. Rognstad sees in the first three of these diagrams depictions of the Tree of Life, the fourteen
aeons, and Venus or Ishtar (“Gnostiske initiasjonritualer: En studie av initiasjonsritualene i 2. Jeubok i
Codex Brucianus.” [Masters thesis: University of Bergen, 2006], 48-53). However, the evidence is
not entirely convincing, given the lack of any indication of the group’s use of Genesis mythology
(beyond an Enochic reference in 3PS), the fact that when the aeons are referred to, it is always as
twelve in number, and that there is no clue of a high divine role for Venus within the wider Jeuian
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
connections, given their twelve and fourteen branches respectively, representative of
the stations of the zodiac the sun progresses through and the days of the waxing
period of the moon. Although this is speculative, the group’s affinity for light and
their high regard of the two luminaries throughout the texts makes this a plausible
path for further investigation.
Figure 5.9: Baptism Seals
Water
Fire
Holy Spirit
Mystery to Remove Evil of
Archons
Top Row – Pre-Ritual; Bottom Row – Post-Ritual
The second seals are not associated with names, but their use is somewhat more
explicit: they are sealed on the foreheads of the disciples.43 These seals are smaller
and simpler, perhaps making them easier for reproduction on the forehead. It may
have used oil, as in more typical Christian anointing, or indeed in Egyptian burial
preparation. These were rituals to remove evil and become reborn, giving one the
right for post-mortem ascent to the highest regions of the divine world.
It is
interesting to note that the second seal for the baptism of the Holy Spirit resembles
the hieroglyph for ka, or spiritual essence:
. The materials used for the incense
offerings in these rituals also resemble recipes for kyphi, the incense used in
Egyptian temples.44 It is possible that Egyptian antecedents should be sought for the
corpus. The sun and moon as luminaries play a much stronger role with souls and the restoration of
light.
43
The second seal of the final ritual shares the characteristics of the first seals, with two names and no
explicit sealing placement.
44
See L. Manniche, Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy, and Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt
(Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1999), 47-59.
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
other seals in this category, as with the ascent seals above, although the same
cautionary notes apply.
The final seal in the mystery to remove the evil of the archons causes the
disciples to become immortal, and allows them to follow Jesus on the ascent
thereafter (2 Jeu 116). Then the instructions are given on how to pass through the
aeons.
The purification imparted by these rituals—epitomized by the final
sealings—grants the participant immortality and is the first step toward the right to
take a place in the kingdom of light.
5.3 CONCLUSIONS
Diagrams were a vital aspect of religious learning and practice to the authors of the
two Books of Jeu. While certain symbols they contain are prevalent in the ancient
world, among surviving texts their use here is unique. Although these texts do not
present a myth of the origin of the cosmos recognizable from a Biblical tradition, the
gradual unfolding of the treasuries with all of their inhabitants as presented in the
initial types and treasury maps—by inspiration of the highest god and the actions of
the true god—certainly seems to suggest a theory of creation. They represent this
unfolding through symbolic images and maps. Origins of man and earth are absent,
perhaps due to the nature of the tractates. Here the population, nature and navigation
of the divine realms are of utmost importance.
Besides being informative of the celestial structure, the texts serve as a
handbook for the initiate, giving them the knowledge that will be necessary when the
time for ascent comes.
The seals, including the names and numbers meant to
accompany them, clearly were meant to be studied and memorized. The baptismal
rituals provided the initial preparations for a soul’s eventual ascent, cleansing it of
sin and sealing it to keep evil away and identify it as pure. Sealing allows the ritual
to begin, and sealing ends the ritual with a permanent purity. Regardless of whether
the procedure is purely a post-mortem one or whether a meditative or ecstatic ascent
occurred first in life, seals provide protection for ascent, and with their names present
proof of knowledge and the power to continue on the journey.
Thus, for the group utilizing these texts, diagrams are associated with notions
of universal creation, divine rulers, ascent of the individual soul, and rituals of
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CHAPTER 5 • DIAGRAMS IN THE BOOKS OF JEU
purification—essentially every aspect of divine comprehension and practice.
Knowledge of all of these is considered requisite to attain ultimate peace and glory in
the world beyond. Even in the later Pistis Sophia texts, when the cosmological
structure has apparently changed and language surrounding the highest realms has
dramatically altered, hints are given that this knowledge of individual seals and
diagrams is still considered necessary for the true adept. Perhaps it is unsurprising
that these later, more introductory texts, which deal considerably with punishments,
worldly conduct and protocol, and exoteric exegesis do not present this most sacred
and secret of knowledge. However, its existence and importance remains, as the
authors exhort the readers to find these mysteries in the “Books of Jeu.” From
beginning to end, this knowledge remains an essential part of the soteriological
beliefs and practices of the Jeuian system as a whole.
167
CHAPTER 6
FORMATION OF TRADITION: REDACTION,
REFORMULATION, AND ADAPTATION
Having analyzed the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia in their own internal context,
it is now necessary to investigate their contents in light of other religious and cultural
movements that would have been contemporary with the development of these extant
Jeuian texts. From an early period syncretistic phenomena were common in Egypt,
and this tendency extended into the Greco-Roman period.1 The Jeuian group was
certainly not a static tradition, and the texts give clear evidence of permeability, with
new religious ideas and mythological figures entering into the existing structure.
This evidence demonstrates both an awareness of, and interaction with, a variety of
external factors. As one progresses from the earliest to the latest texts, one can detect
stages of development: there are signs of a gradual movement from primarily GrecoEgyptian religious and astrological concerns to increasingly displaying a varied
amalgam of religious influences, ending with a striking reinterpretation of the Sophia
myth found in some non-mainstream esoteric Christian traditions, and a further
mainstream Christian veneer of scriptural references and claims to apostolic
authority. This chapter will discuss the influences of Egyptian religion, GrecoRoman astrology, popular nomina barbara, Manichaeism, Sethianism, and
Valentinianism, and will also question the extent of mainstream Christian influence.
6.1 EGYPTIAN RELIGION
Beyond the location of purchase of the Bruce Codex in Egypt and the fact that the
sole copy of all the Jeuian texts are currently preserved only in Coptic translation,
other evidence supports an Egyptian provenance for the original contents of both the
1
J.G. Griffiths, “Motivation in Early Egyptian Syncretism,” 43, in Studies in Egyptian Religion:
Dedicated to Professor Jan Zandee, M. Heerma van Ross et al., eds. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1982), 43-55;
P.D. Scott-Moncrieff, Paganism and Christianity in Egypt (Cambridge: 1913), 151-152. The
definition (and indeed usefulness) of the term “syncretism” itself is open to debate; for an overview of
recent uses and interpretations, see A.M. Leopold and J.S. Jensen, eds., Syncretism in Religion: A
Reader (London: Equinox, 2004). Although the term has been used in vague, broad manners that are
not always appropriate in the study of ancient religion, in the Jeuian texts an active adoption of outside
religious concepts seems quite certain. Thus the use of the term with the sense of religious
interpenetration, including the assimilation of figures and ideas in an innovative manner, is here
suitable.
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia. Even despite the variety of speculations about
their connections with groups known from the heresiologists, their Egyptian origin is
widely accepted by scholars.2 The nature of the signs indicating this provenance are
quite varied, ranging from the outlines and maps of the divine realm, to astronomical
interest and technical tools, to ritual elements and calendrical clues, to mythological
imagery.
While in the later texts these elements differ from their original
counterparts in role or moral nature, the varied way in which all of these appear
throughout suggests that they were originally central to the group’s beliefs as
opposed to a secondary veneer added to a more Greco-Roman esoteric Christian
system, as shall be demonstrated below. The present survey begins with the outline
of the divine realm presented in 1 Jeu.
6.1.1
Journey through the Gates
The extensive, formulaic pattern of presenting each level of the Treasuries, its heads
or rulers, accompanying emanations, and sets of watchers, strongly parallels certain
spells in the Book of the Dead which act as a guide for the deceased through the
various gates of the underworld. The number of gates through which one must
traverse in the latter varies from seven to twenty-one, but one of the common
features is that at each gate one must speak to three doorkeepers: a keeper, a guard
2
E. Amélineau, “Les traités gnostiques d’Oxford,” 200-203, in Revue de l’histoire des religions
(Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1890), 176-215; G.R.S. Mead, Pistis Sophia: The Gnostic Tradition of Mary
Magdalene, Jesus, and his Disciples (1921; reprint: Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2005),
xxvii; F. Legge, Forerunners and Rivals of Christianity Being Studies in Religious History from 330
B.C. to 330 A.D., Vol. 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1915), 175-177; A. von Harnack,
Die Chronologie des altchristlichen Litteratur bis Eusebius, Vol. 2: die Chronologie der Litteratur
von Irenaeus bis Eusebius (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’ sche Buchhandlung, 1904), 184; K.R. Köstlin,
“Das gnostische System des Buches Pistis Sophia,” 184-196, in Theologisches Jahrbücher 13, von
Baur and Zeller, eds. (Bielefeld-Leipzig, 1854), 137-196; C. Schmidt, Pistis Sophia: Ein gnostisches
Originalwerk des dritten Jahrhunderts aus dem Koptischen übersetzt (1925; reprint: Graz: Edition
Geheimes Wissen, 2010), 43; C. Schmidt, Gnostische Schriften in koptischer Sprache aus dem Codex
Brucianus (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1892), 596; H.-M. Schenke, “Vorwort,” xxiii,
in C. Schmidt, Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, Vol. 1: Die Pistis Sophia. Die beiden Bücher des Jeû.
Unbekanntes altgnostisches Werk 4., um das Vorwort erweiterte Auflage herausgegeben von HansMartin Schenke (1905; revised 4th edition Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1981), xvi-xxxiv; G. Massey,
Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1907), 771-786 B.A. Pearson,
Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 255; P.D. ScottMoncrieff, Paganism and Christianity in Egypt, 176. Note that Scott-Moncrieff also feels the authors
show a poor grasp of the finer points of Egyptian religion that suggests they were not adherents of the
traditional religion (178-179). The discrepancies he notes may simply result from interpretations and
modifications of this group, which undoubtedly was not merely a late version of the traditional
Egyptian cult, but rather a group of Egyptian origin with a unique syncretistic system.
170
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
and an announcer. The deceased must state the names of
each to be allowed passage—much as the names of each
set of three watchers are stated in 1 Jeu, and their symbols
Figure 6.1: Guardians
over the Sixth Gate
in the Papyrus of Ani
are placed over the entry gates to each level. Furthermore,
certain vignettes accompanying spells feature six guardian
beings, which in turn could reflect the inclusion of two sets
of three watchers in each of the Treasuries—one set at the
entrance and one at the exit.
This setup is further suggested in the second
section explaining the procedure for passing through each
treasury, as each treasury is said to be surrounded by “six
places” (1 Jeu 84-87). The differentiation between three
Source:
J.H. Taylor,
Journey through the
Afterlife, 136
types of gatekeepers is also apparently present in this
second section: upon giving the appropriate name, seal, and cipher at each stage, “the
watchers and the ranks and the veils are drawn back,” allowing access to the Father
of the treasury (1 Jeu 84-87, 89-91). The names of the guardian beings given in the
Book of the Dead texts tend to have a more descriptive nature to them; for example,
“He who lives on snakes,” “Fiery,” and “Hippopotamus-faced, raging of power,” are
the names of the guardians of the fifth gate in spell 144.3 However, it must not be
Figure 6.2: Comparison of Afterlife Realm Maps
The Field of Reeds - vignette from Spell
466 of the Coffin Texts (source: J.H.
Taylor, Journey through the Afterlife,
242)
1 Jeu – part of the second Jeu-region (source: the Bruce
Codex)
3
J.H. Taylor, Journey through the afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead (London: The British
Museum Press, 2010), 136.
171
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
ruled out that the mysterious names in 1 Jeu possessed (or once possessed, and were
corrupted in transmission) a concrete meaning to those initiated into the group. At
any rate, the depiction of the entities one might expect to meet, and indeed maps of
the realms beyond, were commonplace in many of the Coffin Texts as well as the
Book of the Dead spells.
The goal for this journey through various gates in the Book of the Dead was
to reach Osiris in the innermost region, beyond the final gate. It should be noted that
while the deceased acquired an “Osiris aspect,” this did not entail a direct association
of the deceased and the god; rather, it associated the deceased with the god’s
devotees, and upon penetrating the final gate, carried the notion of belonging to that
king of the underworld’s court.4 It seems likely that the Jeu-beings in the Treasuries
of Light follow a similar theme. Jesus tells the disciples, “I have borne you into the
places of those of the innermost, as you are a rank, so that you proceed with me in all
places to which we shall go, so that you serve me in all the places to which I will go,
and I will call you disciples” (1 Jeu 89). There are many ranks within the treasuries,
but the disciples are thus a unit of Jesus’ retinue, as he himself holds the secondhighest rank in the divine world—slightly above that of the demiurge Jeu, but after
his Father, the unapproachable god. This parallels the Egyptian desire to remain in
the presence of the highest lord of the underworld. 2 Jeu also features the conversion
of the disciples into a rank in the treasury of the true god, after they have completed
all the mysteries of the preceding places and reached the innermost region (2 Jeu
125). They are thus allowed to remain in the presence of the true god, the pinnacle to
which a human could aspire.
6.1.2
A Stellar Afterlife
From the earliest written records in Egypt, it was believed that the king was destined
to ascend to the stars after death, taking his place as one of the “imperishable” or
“indestructible” stars—the circumpolar stars which never set. The length of time
allotted for the mummification process was also tied to stellar imagery: the seventyday process was associated with the period of time that the star Sothis/Sirius
4
M. Smith, Traversing Eternity: Texts for the Afterlife from Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2009), 7. It might also be noted that the highest-ranking angels in 3 Enoch
have the name of YHWH appended to their names, demonstrating their closeness to the high deity.
172
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
disappeared before its heliacal rising to mark the beginning of the year. 5 The
postmortem goal could also be viewed as a joining of the sun god Ra’s retinue,
traversing the sky in his “bark of millions”—again, referring to a stellar array. These
various positions—joining Osiris in the underworld, joining Ra in his bark, and
becoming an eternal star—were not viewed as mutually exclusive, and indeed went
hand in hand.
While the idea of ascending to the sky and gaining a position as a star was
originally reserved for the Egyptian royalty, it was eventually expanded to include
others. In the Ptolemaic and Roman periods there are numerous texts referring to a
variety of individuals achieving this honored position. 6 It would not, then, be
unwarranted to think the users of the Books of Jeu might have envisioned a similar
stellar afterlife, ascending through the multitude of starry regions to reach the
pinnacle of stars to the north. Although in the Egyptian texts the series of gates,
guardians, and passwords are generally restricted to spells describing passage to the
underworld, it has been established that the Egyptians had a multidimensional view
of the afterlife. It is possible that this group extended this idea to the ascension
journey, bypassing the sojourn in the underworld. The Books of Jeu are highly
concerned with realms of light, a concept at odds with the dark realm of the Egyptian
underworld. The fact that the destinies of underworld journey, retinue of the sun
god, and star were all connected in the early stages would allow for a later
development combining elements from all of the above: the journey leads to the
astral realm, where one remains in the place of the sun/deity of the regions of light in
the form of a star. In 2 Jeu where the Greco-Roman and non-mainstream esoteric
Christian ideas of the planetary heavens and zodiacal sphere come more clearly into
play, the disciples are told that at the end of their journey they shall remain as a rank
in the place of the true god over the treasuries of light, suggesting their conversion
into a set of stars or a constellation.
There is further potential for astronomical connection in 2 Jeu’s instructions
for traversing the twelve aeons. At each level one is given a set of three names to
5
M. Smith, Traversing Eternity, 36.
See M. Smith, Traversing Eternity, 197, 239, 289, 293, 326, etc. Compare also Dan. 12:3 for a nonEgyptian notion of the wise becoming as stars in the next life in the later centuries BCE.
6
173
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
recite 7 —perhaps reflecting the thirty-six decans or decan-stars originally used in
Egyptian astral timekeeping prior to the implementation of the twelve-fold zodiac,
and adopted to some extent in the Greco-Roman astrological scheme.8 In the later
periods these decans were divided into groups of three and associated with each of
the twelve zodiacal signs. The assigning of three names to be recited at each aeonic
level may reflect such a connection.
As a final note on potential astrological
connections between Egyptian systems and those found in the Books of Jeu, it should
be observed that in addition to the thirty-six decans, twenty-four hour stars were also
acknowledged, separate from the decanal belt. 9 In 2 Jeu, the first twelve aeons
feature three name-passwords each—connecting them with zodiac/decans of the
ecliptic—and the thirteenth aeon contains twenty-four emanations.
Perhaps this
reflects an attempt to maintain the importance of astronomical divisions of the past,
while still accommodating changing views on both the created realm and the upper
realms of light.10
6.1.3
Ritual Procedures
Parallels between the Books of Jeu and Egyptian religio-magical practices can also
be detected in ritual elements beyond the gatekeepers and passwords. Certain spells
involved “encircling…or facing in a particular direction – some spells were to be
repeated four times, which probably implies facing the cardinal points from which
danger might approach.”11 The two Books of Jeu, the richest in ritual detail of the
corpus, feature instances of reciting magical names or prayers while turning to the
“four corners” of the treasury, world, or general location in which the words are
7
It is true that in the transcription for the fifth, eighth, ninth, and twelfth aeons, either two or four
names are distinguished. Unfortunately the manuscript is corrupt such that checking the transcription
is impossible. In at least one of these instances even the transcription acknowledges an illegible
lacuna such that the number of names is unknowable. It seems likely, however, given the repetitive
and systematic nature of the author’s system, that three names were meant for each level.
8
See Manilius, Astronomica IV.294-407, G.P. Goold, “Introduction” to Manilius’ Astronomica
(London: Heinemann Ltd., 1977), lxxxv-lxxxvii; see also J. Evans, “The Astrologer’s Apparatus: A
Picture of Professional Practice in Greco-Roman Egypt,” 2, in Journal for the History of Astronomy
35 (2004), 1-44, and T. Barton, Ancient Astrology (London: Routledge, 1994), 28-29, especially the
passage from Stobaeus, Excerpt 6, 1.21.9, 1.189.
9
O. Neugebauer and R.A. Parker, Egyptian Astronomical Texts, Vol. 2: The Ramesside Star Clocks
(London: Brown University Press, 1969), 5.
10
It should be observed that the flight of the evil entities of the early aeons to the “west” as a negative
realm is decidedly non-Egyptian, as shall be discussed further below.
11
J.H. Taylor, Journey through the afterlife, 33.
174
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
being recited (1 Jeu 91; 2 Jeu 107, 109, 114, 116). The same procedure is found in
4PSa, when Jesus recites names to the four corners of the world before requesting the
beings of the archons to move aside and allow himself and the disciples passage
(4PSa 353-354), and also before opening their eyes to the light (4PSa 367).
Furthermore there are instances of prayers or rituals wherein Jesus has the disciples
surround him and/or stand with their feet together, suggesting that they would stand
together in a protective circle (1 Jeu 92; 2 Jeu 107, 109, 114, 115). All of these
rites—in 1 Jeu reciting the name to suffice for passage through all of the treasuries,
in 4PSa for safety from the aeonic archons and prior to revelation, and in 2 Jeu
during the baptisms to remove the influence of sin—are performed in a context
where evil entities might wish to cause them harm or stop their progress, thus
necessitating these defensive positions and maneuvers.
The admonition to the
disciples not to give the mysteries to any but those who are worthy—including a list
of family members (“do not give them to father, or mother, or brother, or sister, or
relative…” [2 Jeu 100])—also has its parallels in the Book of the Dead, where
several spells are accompanied by the warning not to use them for anyone but
oneself, not even one’s father or son.12 The expansion of the list in 2 Jeu to include
female family members reflects the later text’s active encompassing of male and
female discipleship in its language.
6.1.4
Ouroboros Imagery
The Egyptian ties in the Pistis Sophia are of a different nature, but are nonetheless
prevalent. The description of the sun and the moon near the beginning of 4PSa show
traces within their amalgam of imagery. The ouroboros—a dragon or snake with its
tail in its mouth—bearing the seven planetary powers as the disc of the sun could be
connected with the figure of Mehen—the coiled snake or ouroboros that was said to
surround the world, protecting it from chaos, and defending Ra and his solar bark.13
Its positive nature is bolstered here by its juxtaposition with the lunar boat that
12
See spells 133b, 137, 190 in The Book of the Dead OR Going Forth by Day: Ideas of the Ancient
Egyptians Concerning the Hereafter as Expressed in Their Own Terms (T.G. Allen, trans. [Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1974]).
13
J. H. Taylor, Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt (London: British Museum Press, 2001), 238;
A. Schweizer, The Sungod’s Journey Through the Netherworld: Reading the Ancient Egyptian
Amduat, E. Hornung, trans. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1994), 218.
175
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
collects the light of the archons. However, the snake surrounding the world was not
an unequivocally positive image in Egypt. The transformation of the ouroboros
figure into the personification of evil is complete in 3PS, where the dragon of the
outer darkness is described as having its tail in its mouth, trapping sinners within its
inner chambers. This development ties it closer with the evil serpent Apep, Ra’s
mortal enemy who needed to be overcome every night, and with Ankh-Neteru, as an
ouroboros with underworld symbolism through whom Ra traveled in his nightly
journey.14 This association is furthered by the twelve beings living within its twelve
chambers with names that change “according to the hour” (3PS 319). In Ra’s journey
through the underworld, he visits a different chamber in each of the twelve hours of
the night. The fact that in 3PS the dragon is said to be visible while the sun is
beneath the world reflects both the physical world-encompassing nature of the
dragon as well as the sun’s journey in relation to it (3PS 332).
Furthermore the sinners are taken into the dragon “through the mouth of the
tail” (
"
! !
!
!
; 3PS 320)—not simply
swallowed through the jaws as one might expect. This reflects the mode of entry of
Ra into the serpent in the Amduat, where he enters through the tail and exits through
the mouth.15 It is suggested that souls exit through the mouth of the dragon if they
receive a second chance by virtue of a prayer or ritual performed on their behalf by
one still living, furthering this connection (3PS 324). The additional exits within
each chamber found in 3PS, however, appear to be an original innovation. This
perhaps balances the fact that, unlike in more typical Egyptian tradition, no light or
rejuvenation ever reaches those within its chambers; it is purely a place of
punishment rather than an accepted destination for souls within the underworld. By
providing an “emergency exit” for those with the correct knowledge, it gives a
possibility of a second chance in what is otherwise a sentence for complete
destruction.
14
B. Mundkur, The Cult of the Serpent: An Interdisciplinary Survey of its Manifestations and Origins
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1983), 76; E.A.W. Budge, The Book of Am-Tuat,
(London: Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1905), 259-261.
15
E.A.W. Budge, The Book of Am-Tuat, 261; referred to in J. Assmann, Death and Salvation in
Ancient Egypt, D. Lorton, trans. (London: Cornell University Press, 2001), 183.
176
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
6.1.5
Decans, Astrology, and Anthropogony
The possible but unspecified implication of the decanal star system in 2 Jeu has
already been discussed above. The term “decan” (
) appears in four of the
five Pistis Sophia texts.16 In 4PSa it is as a single mention, as one of the variety of
entities that the sexually sinning archons of Sabaoth begot: archons, archangels,
angels, ministers, and decans. Jeu then binds all of these beings in the Heimarmenesphere, suggesting that they are all forms of stars found within the sphere of fixed
stars. This would allow for the Egyptian interpretation of the decans as starry gods
tied into the workings of fate. 3PS furthers these fate-ties in the two instances they
arise: the decans are said to “act upon the soul in the bodies of the soul in the world
(
:
!
" C
: ! !
!
!
" C
! !
)”
(3PS 336); they are also involved in the formation of the fetus in the womb, along
with the archons of the Heimarmene (zodiac) and the 365 ministers (day-keepers),
suggesting again that the decans have their role in the starry sphere and prison of
time and fate (3PS 342-343).17 The astrological significance of the decans is still
more blatant in 1/2PS, where in addition to their role in the formation of the body
(1PS 14), they are also directly associated with the soothsayers. These soothsayers
attempt to gain information from the decans, but their efforts are frustrated by Jesus.
(1PS 31).
The term “decan” does appear in the Bruce Codex, but not in the context of
either of the Books of Jeu. It arises in the fragmentary hymn praising the First
Mystery in relation to the establishing of the aeons.18 In each stanza, the unidentified
speaker (apparently Jesus) refers to Jeu’s founding of one of the thirteen aeons, and
the fact that he has “set up archons and decans and ministers” within it. This
fragment shares terminology and cosmogonical suppositions with the later Pistis
Sophia texts, and seems to place the decans firmly within the astrological tradition.
Returning to 3PS and the role of the ministers and decans in forming the
fetus, it is specified that the time required to form “the whole body with all its
16
Excepting the fragmentary 4PSb.
The ministers also seal the fetus with multiple significant dates in its formation, the astrological
significance of which will be discussed below, Section 6.2.5.
18
1 Jeu 79-82.
17
177
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
members” within the womb is 70 days (3PS 343)—the same time allotted for the
embalming of the dead in Egyptian practice, which as noted above was tied with the
cycle of the star Sothis. With the negative view of the physical body held by the
author at this point, this connection between the formation of the human body and
the embalming of the dead is unlikely to be a coincidence. The formation of the
body from the sweat, tears, and breath of the archons also has parallels in the
Egyptian system, wherein the gods and humanity are formed from the sweat and
tears of a higher being (3PS 333-334).19
6.1.6
Other Entities and Imagery
Returning for a moment to imagery in 4PSa, accompanying the ouroboros bearing
the planetary powers is the boat of the moon. The text states, “But the base of the
moon was of the type of a boat, and a male dragon and a female dragon steered it,
while two white bulls drew it. And the likeness of a child was at the back of the
moon, and guided the dragons as they stole the light of the archons from them, while
a cat-face was in front of it” (4PSa 354-355). The dragons steering this boat will be
discussed in the Manichaean section below, but the two white bulls that pull the boat
may be tied to Egyptian funerary practice.
After embalming, the body of the
deceased was placed on a catafalque in a boat-shaped base, which in turn was on a
sledge.20 This sledge was pulled either by male friends or by oxen, and a cohort of
white oxen to pull it was desirable. 21 Thus the body was transported to its final
resting place.
Here, the light of the archons is taken on a journey from its
imprisonment in the evil beings of the left to its proper place, as the deceased went
on a journey to his rightful place in the afterlife post-embalming. The child who
guides the dragons of the moon may be associated with the moon-god Khonsu;
alternatively, it may be representative of the child Harpocrates, who was sometimes
depicted on the boat of the sun.22 Scott-Moncrieff believes it must be a confused
interpretation of the solar child Harpocrates, and takes the mistaken lunar attribution
19
L. Kákosy, “Gnosis und ägyptische Religion,” 245-246, in Le Origini Dello Gnosticismo: Colloquio
di Messina 13-18 Aprile 1966, U. Bianchi, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1967), 238-247.
20
J. H. Taylor, Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, 187.
21
See 18th Dynasty stela in J. Assmann, Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt, 301.
22
L. Kákosy, “Gnosis und ägyptische Religion,” 245; P.D. Scott-Moncrieff, Paganism and
Christianity in Egypt, 179.
178
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
as evidence that the author was not well-versed in Egyptian religion and imagery. It
might also be noted that the adult version of Harpocrates, Horus, is associated with
the moon. As for the lunar Khonsu, he is usually depicted with the sidelock of hair
that symbolized childhood; he was also associated with boats23 and the movement of
the moon in its orbit.24 Thus, the possibility that he is the one intended here cannot
be completely ruled out. The cat-face at the front of the vessel is likely related to
Bast, the cat and sun goddess who was also considered a moon goddess in the later
period after Greek influence. She was sometimes viewed as the moon-eye of Horus,
whose eyes were tied to the two luminaries. Furthermore, both Bubastis (4PSa 361,
362, 363, 364, 366) and Typhon (4PSa 364, 365) play roles in 4PSa—Bubastis being
the Hellenized form of Bastet, who was also associated with Isis and Aphrodite;25
and Typhon being the Greek name for the evil god Seth.26
While the positive Egyptian afterlife destination Amente—the West—has
been twisted into a place of punishment throughout these texts,27 in 3PS it is also
home to the “dog-face” who deals with judgments of the sinners there. This dog-face
is likely to be a version of Anubis, who was portrayed with the head of a jackal and
was featured as a key figure in Egyptian judgment scenes. 28 The other animalheaded beings that dwell within the dragon of the outer darkness would also seem to
reflect the Egyptian iconographic tradition;29 while originally animal-headed imagery
23
M.A. Murray, Egyptian Temples (1931; reprint: Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2002), 9699.
24
D.B. Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Vol. 2 (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2001), 482.
25
S.K. Heyob, The Cult of Isis Among Women in the Greco-Roman World (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975),
51.
26
See L. Kákosy, “Gnosis und ägyptische Religion,” 246; A. von Lieven, “Gnosis and Astrology:
‘Book IV’ of the Pistis Sophia,” 228, in Under One Sky: Astronomy and Mathematics in the Ancient
Near East, J.M. Steele and A. Imhausen, eds. (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2002) 223-234.
27
This association of Amente with hell or a realm of punishment was a part of Coptic Christianity in
general; see R.K. Ritner, “Egypt under Roman Rule: the legacy of Ancient Egypt,” 21, in The
Cambridge History of Egypt, Vol. 1: Islamic Egypt, 640-1517, C.F. Petry, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1998), 1-33.
28
It should be noted that the Ariel found in Amente in 4PSb and 3PS is not Jaldabaoth, despite the
connection of the two figures in texts such as OrigWorld. In the Pistis Sophia Jaldabaoth is associated
exclusively with the Chaos region and has a lion face, as he does in other texts, while Ariel is tied to
Amente and the dog-faced entity there.
29
Again, P.D. Scott-Moncrieff observes that the animals chosen do not entirely match up with those
used in ancient Egyptian sources, and takes this as a sign that the sources being used by the author
were hopelessly corrupt (Paganism and Christianity in Egypt, 178-179); one must keep in mind that
these texts originated well after the ancient forms of Egyptian religion had faded with time, and also
179
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
represented positive gods and guardians as well as evil beings, here they have
become purely demonic entities in charge of punishments and destined for
destruction.
6.1.7
Summary of Egyptian Influence
Although a variety of religious and cultural influences were involved in the
composition of the Jeuian texts, as has been demonstrated here they are very likely to
be originally of Egyptian provenance.
This is shown variously through the
cosmogony and journey through the heavenly realms, ritual protocol and procedure,
astronomical mainstays, anthropogony, and general imagery of the divine realm and
certain of its inhabitants. Although the correspondences are far from exact—indeed,
the associations of some of these elements are opposite those of their older Egyptian
counterparts with their positive view of the stars, materiality, and incarnation—the
themes and vocabulary used from the earliest texts onward cannot be ignored. The
earlier Books of Jeu present a handbook of earthly initiation and post-mortem travel
or ascension of a variety recognizable in the Book of the Dead, while the later Pistis
Sophia texts make use of Egyptian mythological imagery, astrological theory and
anthropogonical speculation.
While the earliest texts—particularly 1 Jeu—are
practically mirror images of Egyptian initiatory and mortuary literature, the latest
texts of 1/2PS contain the least distinctly Egyptian material. This is in keeping with
the overall trend of developing ideas that shall be further demonstrated in the
following sections. Over time the religious and cultural environment around the
group shifted, making this ancient imagery that once captivated the imagination fall
away in favor of Biblical references, demonization of the stars and their motions,
emphasis on the notion of an Ineffable god, and the anticosmic mythology of certain
branches of later Greco-Roman era non-mainstream esoteric Christianities that
required a Savior to descend into the world. While early scholars of these texts
viewed them as convoluted developments of the Christian Gnosis known from the
heresiologists with added Egyptian imagery, the truth, in fact, is the opposite. That
that this group was open to updating imagery. Despite the differences, an Egyptian source seems
certain.
180
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
is, they are likely to represent an original Egyptian system that gradually adopted
language and imagery from various non-mainstream esoteric Christian groups.
6.2 ASTROLOGY
Astrology is perhaps one of the most self-evident elements present in the Jeuian
texts—particularly in 4PSa, where discussion of the planets and zodiac signs by their
regular Greek names is present, and also in 1PS, with the events of Jesus’ ascension
and their astrological/astronomical effects. Astrological concepts are prevalent in all
of the Jeuian texts; however, the nature of astrological concerns changes from text to
text. Because of this, while the other sections of this chapter present individual
concepts and trace them through the whole corpus, here analysis will be given by text
in chronological order from earliest to latest in order to highlight the developments
and why they may have taken place.30
6.2.1
Astrology in 1 Jeu
The two Books of Jeu are cosmologically the most enigmatic texts of the present
Jeuian corpus. 1 Jeu in particular does not correspond with any other known text on
the structure of the divine realms. As has been discussed elsewhere in this thesis, the
current mutilated state of the document makes it impossible to get a clear view of the
overall structure the author had in mind; however, it is highly likely that there were a
total of sixty “treasuries,” which progressed in order from the first and innermost to
the sixtieth and outermost. They were further organized such that there were “two
ranks of the Fatherhood within, and one in the middle, and two outside (
-
-
& a
In addition, there are “five ranks of Fatherhood…in the middle (
).”
), which are
the places of the God who is in the midst of the All” (1 Jeu 83).
The first thing that is immediately striking about this passage is the use of the
term “midst” or “middle”—a technical term for the ecliptic in much ancient
30
For a broad discussion of the use and development of astrology in Hellenistic culture, see A.
Bouché-Leclercq, L’astrologie grecque (Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1899).
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
astronomical and astrological literature. 31 In 2 Jeu there is also a “midst” realm
located between the aeons and the treasuries, this time using the Greek term, µέσος.
In the Pistis Sophia texts there are two realms of the midst, one neutral designated by
the Greek term and inhabited by the Virgin of the Light, the other negative, called by
the Coptic term used here, and at least in the early stages inhabited by the five great
archons.32 That there are “five ranks” within the middle rank of the 1 Jeu treasuries
is unlikely to be a coincidence. As is evident from the later texts, the five planets
(excluding the sun and moon from the traditional ancient conception of seven
planets) are often grouped together in the system of the users of these texts—
although the opinion on the role they play changes dramatically over time. These
five ranks “in the places of the God who is in the midst of the All,” then, represent
the planets, and are not counted within the total number of the sixty treasuries.
In an ambiguous, damaged passage, the ranks of the five trees—a mystery
that appears in all of the lists of mysteries in the later texts—are mentioned in
relation to the treasuries. MacDermot’s translation is as follows: “Thou hast caused
it [an emanation] to produce 60 emanations which are these fatherhoods. Thou hast
set up one (as God?) corresponding to treasuries from the first to the last of them all.
It is they which thou hast named as the ranks of the five trees” (1 Jeu 96). It is
unclear from the passage what exactly is designated as the ranks of the five trees.
However, based on the plural (
term “rank” (
-
Y-
) and the
) as descriptor, it is possible that the five ranks of the midst—the
planets—are meant. The image of trees has been used in other ancient contexts to
refer to divine beings, and especially planetary beings.33 This would fit in well with
the astrological framework of the planets ruling over the emanations of the
treasuries—the stars and divisions of the celestial sphere, as shall shortly be
demonstrated.34
31
See Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos I.9
The two Midst realms are discussed further in Sections 3.4 and 3.9.
33
See A. Toepel, “Planetary Demons in Early Jewish Literature,” in Journal for the Study of the
Pseudepigrapha 14 (2005), 231-238, especially 233-234.
34
The idea of the emanations of the treasuries as stars is not unprecedented; the notion of angels as
stars is also known from apocalyptic literature (C.A. Gieschen, Angelomorphic
Christology:Antecedents and Early Evidence [Leiden: Brill, 1998], 28).
32
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
There was an idea within ancient
astronomy of five parallel celestial circles: the
Figure 6.3: The Fixed Circles of
the Sky
Arctic and Antarctic circles, the summer and
winter tropics, and the equator (Figure 6.3).35
The ecliptic cut a wide path, touching the
tropic circles at each equinox and the equator
at the solstices. It is possible, then, that the
two outer, two inner, and one middle rank of
the
treasuries
represent
these
celestial
divisions, with each circle divided into twelve,
for a total of sixty celestial regions through
which an ascending soul might pass. The five
planet-ranks move through the midst (
Source: G.P. Goold, “Introduction,”
Manilius’ Astronomica, xxxiii
), which as the ecliptic is independent of
the parallel circle ranks, and here is the place of “the God who is in the midst of the
All”—Jeu, who dwells in the first treasury in the innermost of the inner (1 Jeu 89).36
As convenient a method for mapping the sky as this might have been, it
should be remembered that half of the sky would have been wholly unknown, and
thus the resulting descriptions of each rank cannot be imagined to represent an
entirely concrete depiction of the starry abodes. The fact that the names given for
both the rulers and smaller emanations in each rank are otherwise unknown from
either religious or astronomical texts demonstrates that the author or group was
involved in speculative designation of the heavenly beings based on a uniform grid
of the celestial sphere—each portion containing an equal number of beings,
regardless of observable entities.
In the context of a celestial sphere-based interpretation of the Treasuries of
Light and the entities inhabiting them, the nature of the highest divine beings—the
35
See Manilius, Astronomica I.563a-602; extract from Geminus, Introduction to the Phenomena in J.
Evans, The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) 9194; see also G.P. Goold, “Introduction” to Manilius’ Astronomica, xxxiii.
36
Note that the designation of this God is ambiguous—elsewhere in 1 Jeu, Jeu is referred to as the
“true God,” while the Father of Jesus is called the Father or the unapproachable God. Jeu seems the
most likely candidate, as he is described as having a physical location, whereas the unapproachable
God appears to be purely ineffable and without a specific dwelling—indeed, he is surrounded by and
distributed through all the places (1 Jeu 94).
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
unapproachable God, Jesus, and Jeu—should be considered. The unapproachable
God is described as shining within himself, and shining forth to form the emanations
from Jesus to Jeu all the way down to the places of the treasuries, distributing
himself throughout. He is ineffable, both filling and being surrounded by all. Jesus,
on the other hand, as his first emanation which first shone within him before being
poured forth, describes himself in praise to his Father as “being thy whole likeness
and thy whole image” (1 Jeu 93). He is thus a light-being, but not necessarily to be
considered as a visible element such as the stars. Jeu, however, the true God, is
brought forth to effect physical changes: the Father “will move him to bring forth
other emanations, so that they fill these places…he will be set up in this type as head
of the treasuries which are outside this” (1 Jeu 47; see also 1 Jeu 95-97). This seems
to suggest that his role is a more concrete one in the cosmos. The fact that he is
called “‘Jeu,’ so that those in all the places should be called ‘Jeu,’ so that they should
be made kings over them all” (1 Jeu 97) further suggests a more essential tie with the
cosmic entities, even as he is their head. Could Jeu here be considered as the Sun,
ruler of the cosmic treasuries? This is a distinct possibility, for while he is set apart
from the five ranks of planets, they are still said to be in his places—the ecliptic, the
path of the sun. Given the Egyptian ties of the texts as a whole, a strong reverence
for the sun over and above that for the other cosmic deities would not be out of
place.37
There would thus appear to be here a combination of visible astronomical
religion and sun-reverence with the more metaphysical, ineffable supreme God of the
Platonists and Christians. The five trees (or planets) serve over the sixty treasuries
(or celestial sphere-divisions) and their emanations, separate from them but still
subject to the true God and producer of all the emanations, Jeu, the sun. The
unapproachable God, an incorporeal, ineffable being which permeates all existence,
is indirectly the cause of the visible realm through his production and influencing of
Jeu. Jeu thus serves as a version of the Platonic demiurge—creator of the physical
realm who leaves creation of the lower emanations to his own emanations, but in no
way negative or ignorant as in other non-mainstream esoteric Christian traditions. It
is indeed a complex and unique amalgamation of ideas.
37
His later title as one of the two “great lights” (4PSa 360) may also reflect this association.
184
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
6.2.2
Astrology in 2 Jeu
2 Jeu is no less complex, but it appears to be operating in an almost entirely different
system. No more are the 60 treasuries set out in even ranks, ruled by a demiurge and
flanked by the planets. Previously always plural, the “Treasury of Light” is now a
single entity—although in the longest account of the places through which the
ascending disciples will travel, there are at least two treasuries explicitly mentioned
(2 Jeu 123). The place of the “true God” is still the farthest one can hope to reach,
but this entity is now distinct from Jeu, who as the “father of the Treasury of Light”
now remains several ranks behind. Much of the concern of this book has shifted to
the twelve aeons, with the “midst”—here with the Greek term as mentioned above—
playing a minor role, existing above these aeons, and indeed above the “thirteenth
aeon” that surmounts them. This is the beginning of the cosmology that sees its
flowering in the books of the Pistis Sophia.
These twelve aeons are something of a puzzle.
There is the obvious
possibility that they represent the signs of the zodiac—and indeed, such is the role of
the twelve aeons in 4PSa, the text with the closest ties to this one. The description of
the aeons, however, also presents a potential reading as representing the five
sublunar levels of chaos or the underworld followed by the seven planetary heavens
(see GosJud 51,4-52,14; ApJohn III 17,17-20; BG 41,12-15, II 11,4-6).38 The first
five aeons, when presented with the appropriate signs and seals, “flee to the west and
the left,” the directions of evil. Names familiar from other traditions as evil entities,
Jaldabaoth and Samaelo, have been appended by the author or compiler to the
archons associated with the third and fourth aeons.39 There is overall a sense that
these are terrifying realms of malevolence.
38
For the seven and five division, Z. Pleše explains the case of the Apocryphon of John by suggesting
a mixed Greco-Egyptian origin involving a particular manner of constructing the world horoscope
(Poetics of the Gnostic Universe: Narrative and Cosmology in the Apocryphon of John” [Leiden:
Brill, 2006], 183-184). A.D. DeConick suggests that it is a blending of two systems, one with focus
on the seven planets, the other on the zodiac (A.D. DeConick, The Thirteenth Apostle: What the
Gospel of Judas Really Says, (2007; revised edition London: Continuum, 2009), 153. See also A.J.
Welburn, “The Identity of the Archons in the ‘Apocryphon Johannis,’” in Vigiliae Christianae 32
(1978) 241-254; A.D. DeConick, “Apostles as Archons: The Fight for Apostolic Authority and the
Emergence of Gnosticism in the Tchacos Codex and Other Early Christian Literature,” in The Codex
Judas Papers: Proceedings of the International Conference on the Tchacos Codex at Rice University,
Houston, Texas, March 13-16, 2008, A.D. DeConick, ed. (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 255-257.
39
For further discussion of Jaldabaoth, see Section 6.5.4.
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
A change occurs, however, at the sixth aeon—it is called the “Little Midst
(
),” and “the archons of those places have a little goodness within them,
because the archons of those places have believed” (2 Jeu 129). If the Midst is
indeed the path of the sun, it is possible that the “Little Midst” represents the path of
the moon—which moves at a slightly different angle to that of the sun, and indeed is
the first of the seven planetary realms. The moon is generally considered to have a
positive nature in ancient thought, and as a luminary in particular is sometimes set in
a category with the sun apart from the five planets.40 Here it leads into the remainder
of the aeons, which do not flee in terror before divine knowledge, but simply
withdraw to allow progress. It is thus possible that the seven aeons from the sixth to
the twelfth represent the planetary realms, all of which have a neutral to positive
aspect.
This is again in contrast to other non-mainstream esoteric Christian
cosmologies that attribute wholly negative qualities to the planetary “demons.”41
To return for a moment to the possibility of direct zodiac correlation, it is
interesting to note that for each aeon, regardless of the number of “archons of the
aeon” introduced as its inhabitants, three names are called upon to allow passage to
the next level.42 As discussed in the Egyptian section above, this could be indicative
of an acceptance of the concept of the decans of Egyptian astronomy, three
subdivisions assigned to each sign of the zodiac with their own magical or divine
names.43
The fact that nowhere are any specific names or concepts given that might
provide definite context for these entities makes a precise analysis impossible. The
visible, planetary Midst (
) of 1 Jeu is conspicuously absent here before its
sinister return in 4PSa. The Midst (
) appears above all of the aeons including
the thirteenth, excluding it from a position as the path of the sun whether the aeons
40
On the path of the moon and its importance—including as a division between light and darkness or
righteous and sinners—see 1 En 41:5-8.
41
See the discussion in Z. Pleše, Poetics of the Gnostic Universe, 181-193. T. Rasimus gives an
excellent discussion of the typical set of planetary demons and their permutations in a variety of
Gnostic and heresiological sources; although his proposed correspondences for entities in 2 Jeu are
highly questionable (Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light
of the Ophite Evidence [Leiden: Brill, 2009], 103-128; 104 for the chart of correspondences).
42
See n.7 above.
43
See Section 6.1.2.
186
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
represent the zodiacal circle or the planetary and sublunar sphere. It takes on the role
it fills from here onward as borderland between the lower, visible and upper, divine
realms. A clue to the text, however, lies in the fact that names prominent in the
Sethian tradition—Jaldabaoth, Barbelo, the invisible god—have been evidently (and
at times clumsily) appended to an existing tradition. It could be possible, therefore,
that both interpretations are in a sense true—that a zodiac scheme with
accompanying decans has acquired an additional understanding as the five
chaos/seven heaven scheme found in certain Sethian texts such as the Apocryphon of
John or the Gospel of Judas.44 In any case, it is apparent that ascending beyond the
thirteenth aeon takes one beyond the visible realm, and thus beyond the scope of the
present section.
6.2.3
Astrology in 4PSa
As was noted earlier, 4PSa has the most obvious signs of astrological influence.
Firstly, there is the singular mention of the disc of the sun as “a great dragon with its
tail in its mouth” who “carried seven powers of the left” (4PSa 354)—a clear
reference to the seven planets moving through the ecliptic. The moon is an elaborate
boat, steered by two dragons—likely a reference to the lunar nodes, as will be
discussed in Section 6.4. These two descriptions are unique, however, and at odds
with the rest of the cosmology of the book and indeed that of the rest of the Jeuian
texts, suggesting they are an addition from an outside source.
Of greater importance for the book is the description of the division of the
twelve aeons into the six that believed in the mysteries of the light, and those that
persisted in sexual intercourse. This is likely to represent the division of the zodiac
signs into diurnal and nocturnal groups of six each.45 The result of this division is
the elevation of the good archons to a location between the thirteenth aeon and the
good Midst (
), just below the border between the lower regions of the left/the
cosmos and the upper regions of light. The transgressing aeons, by contrast, are
44
It should be noted that in attributions of planetary ties to the signs of the zodiac, it is more typical to
find them split into two groups of six; one diurnal and one nocturnal group, headed up by the sun and
the moon respectively. That this division is the case in at least certain parts of the Jeuians’ history is
evident from the references to the “six aeons” that are good here in 2 Jeu, and in the Jabraoth and
Sabaoth myth in 4PSa.
45
See A. von Lieven, “Gnosis and Astrology,” 225.
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
bound within the “sphere,” with 1800 archons bound in each aeon, 360 archons
placed over them, and five great archons to rule them all: Cronos, Ares, Hermes,
Aphrodite and Zeus. This is most likely a depiction of the zodiacal circle and the
planets ruling over it: Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter rule over the 360
degrees of the circle and the 1800 individual minutes of each of its twelve
divisions. 46 Here as always in these texts, the Sun and Moon are exempt from
inclusion in the normal workings of the sphere of fate.
These planet-archons are then endowed with powers taken from various
entities. Four of them receive powers from beings of the thirteenth aeon, or place of
the left: Saturn and Mars, the maleficent planets, take them from the invisible god
and one of the two evil triple-powered gods; Mercury, the neutral planet, from
(b) : C
C, the neutral/good triple-powered god; 47 and Venus, one of the
benefic planets, from the Pistis Sophia, daughter of Barbelo and the only
acknowledged good being of the 24 invisible emanations in the thirteenth aeon.
The remaining Jupiter receives a power from the Little Sabaoth, the Good
), that he might be a “rudder in order to guide the
from the good Midst (
world with the aeons of the sphere so that it might not be destroyed by their
wickedness” (4PSa 357). Thus the traditional division of the five planets as two
benefic, two malefic, and one neutral, is preserved and blended with the cosmology
of the present author, who explains their natures through their association with
beings of his own mythos.
Furthermore, Zeus/Jupiter is given “two aeons as dwellings in the presence of
those
of
Hermes”
(!
!
!
!
; 4PSa 357). 48 It becomes apparent after analyzing the following
!
passages that these two aeon-dwellings are the signs of Pisces ( ) and Virgo ( ),
the only two signs that are not involved in the destruction of the places of the archons
of the way of the Midst (
46
), as shown in the table below.49 Pisces is one of the
A. von Lieven, “Gnosis and Astrology,” 225.
The triple-powered ones are discussed in Section 6.5.2 below.
48
V. MacDermot suggests either “in the neighborhood of” or “in the presence of” those of Hermes.
49
A. von Lieven’s statement that his dwellings “can only be” his day and night houses, Pisces and
Sagittarius, is tied to an over-interpretation of the importance of the traditional houses and aspects
47
188
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
two houses of Jupiter, and Virgo one of those of Mercury—thus giving Jupiter both
his own house and one in Mercury’s presence.
Given the importance of the
oppositional aspect in the text, it is also possible that Pisces’ opposition to that
Mercurial house also was involved in referring to it as being “in the presence of”
those of Mercury (see Table 6.1).
This interpretation of the planets and their relationship to the zodiac is then
combined with an interpretation of the five sublunar punishment realms and their
connection with human foibles. Again, 360 evil archons are taken by Jeu and bound
this time beneath the sphere, in the “way of the Midst (
),” where they are ruled
by another “five great archons” (4PSa 359). Here the term for the “Midst” has
returned to the Coptic word, which in 1 Jeu referred to the paths of the planets in
their relation to the divine treasuries—but now it plays a sinister role. The five great
archons are pure evil and drive men to sin, later tormenting them for those selfsame
sins. 50
These archons are given names and physical descriptions, sometimes
matching with descriptions of particular gods or goddesses (Hekate, Typhon),
sometimes not. This clear division of the planets and the sublunar realms seems to
clarify the situation previously suggested in the twelve aeons of 2 Jeu: here the
planets move through the zodiac-aeons and affect through their motions the realms of
the sublunar archons.
Thus the negative beings of the sublunar realms drive men to sin and then
collect them for punishment, while the planets’ motions through the heavens can
have either positive or negative results, in keeping with a more typical Greco-Roman
view of astrological workings.
As Jupiter and Venus move into opposition in
throughout the text—in this case, the square formed by the houses of Jupiter and Mercury (“Gnosis
and Astrology,” 226).
50
A. von Lieven’s proposal (“Gnosis and Astrology,” 226-230) that the five ranks of the way of the
Midst should in fact be six, and that they represent the thirty-six decans, is unconvincing. W. Bousset
relates the five archons and the 360 under their power to the Babylonian calendrical system as days
(Hauptprobleme der Gnosis [1907; reprint: Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1973], 358-360,
and B. Przybylski also ties them to a calendrical system, this time Egyptian (“The Role of Calendrical
Data in Gnostic Literature,” 56-57, in Vigiliae Christianae 34 [1980], 56-70). There is no evidence
for an original six ranks, and the decans are clearly mentioned in another context as offspring of the
wicked archons (4PSa 355). The calendrical arguments fail to take into account the association of the
great archons with human sins and punishments, tying them to fate and/or human nature. The
uniqueness of this text’s portrayal of these five archons’ role in fate causes them to be shifted to the
role of the planets within the Heimarmene in 3PS, when all possibility of a positive role for the planets
has been eradicated.
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
specific signs, the places of one of the five evil archons in the sublunar
are
destroyed and the souls in their domain are freed to return to the sphere. This is not
an ideal situation for the human souls, as they are still trapped within the domain of
fate; however, they are given reprieve from immediate torment, the possibility of
resisting the temptations of the archons, and the opportunity to learn the mysteries of
the author’s community, the only way to fully transcend the cycle and enter the realm
of light.
Table 6.1: Positions of Jupiter and Venus in the Destruction of the Ranks of the
Jupiter Position
Venus Position
Time soul is in
rank
133 years, 9
months
Rank
Archon
1
Paraplex
Aries
Libra
2
Ariuth
Cancer
Capricorn
113 years
3
Hekate
Scorpio
Taurus
105 years, 6
months
4
Parhedron
Typhon
Sagittarius
Gemini
138 years
5
Jacthanabas
Aquarius
Leo
150 years, 8
months
Remaining signs (likely the “dwellings”
of Jupiter): Pisces ( ); Virgo ( )
Total Time: 648 years, 11 months
Length of Soli-Lunar Cycle: ~649 years
Length of Jupiter’s Synodic Period: 13
months
13-month period fits exactly 599 times
in a 648 year, 11-month timeframe
One of the intriguing things to note in the description of the cycle of motion and soul
release is the very specific amount of time given that the soul will spend in each
rank. It is not easily explained by the planetary periods; nor by the times when the
key planets Jupiter and Venus move into their allotted signs. A. von Lieven has
190
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
proposed calculating Jupiter’s beginning point and attributing meaning to the sign of
departure, but this too is unsatisfactory.51 Although it does not give an explanation
for the specific periods of time for each rank, one possible thing to consider is the
total amount of time for all of the periods: adding the amounts from each rank, one
arrives at a total of 648 years, 11 months. The shortest amount of time for a
complete soli-lunar cycle—the time when an eclipse of the same type occurs at the
same time of day and year—is approximately 649 years.52 This would suggest that
the entire process of the planets’ motions in relation to the ranks of the archons lasts
as long as one full soli-lunar cycle. Furthermore, it is stated that Jupiter’s circuit is
established such that he “should spend thirteen months in every aeon, firmly fixed”
(4PSa 357). This might be considered puzzling as its zodiacal period, or the time it
takes to fully revolve around the sun, is twelve years. However, its synodic period—
when the Earth, the sun, and the planet in question return to the same relative
positions—is thirteen months (~399 days). 53 Thus, when Jupiter has a heliacal
rising—when it first becomes visible for a brief moment just before sunrise, after a
period of time it has not been visible—in Leo, its next heliacal rising will be thirteen
months later and will be in the following sign, Virgo.54 Finally, Jupiter’s thirteenmonth synodic period fits exactly 599 times in a 648-year, 11-month soli-lunar cycle.
Thus, it would appear that the author is basing his system of release for tormented
souls on the visible cycles of the sun, the moon and Jupiter in relation to the celestial
sphere.
6.2.4
Astrology in 4PSb
Under the cosmology of this section, both the number of realms of punishment and
the time given for punishment of a particular type of sinner have increased. For
example a murderer, who in 4PSa faces 113 years under the torments of Ariuth, is
51
“Gnosis and Astrology,” 230-231. It again relies on importance of arbitrary planet-sign
associations, and gives no explanation for the actual time periods given.
52
See N. DeVore, Encyclopedia of Astrology (Abingdon, MD: Astrology Classics Publishing, 1999),
166.
53
D.R. Williams, “Jupiter Fact Sheet,” NASA,
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/jupiterfact.html, accessed 22 November 2011.
54
See C. Nelson, “399-Day Mean Synodic Period of Jupiter,”
http://www.timeemits.com/HoH_Articles/399-Day_Mean_Synodic_Period_of_Jupiter.htm, accessed
22 November 2011.
191
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
tortured in the each of the places of frost and snow, the places of Jaldabaoth in
Chaos, the places of Persephone in Chaos, and the way of the Midst by each of their
inhabitants for three years and six months. Thus with Jaldabaoth and his 49 demons
each taking a turn, the murderer is subject to over 170 years of punishment in the
Chaos alone. As the first part of the text is missing, any clues to the system being
used to determine these periods are lost. However, the positions of the aeons/zodiac
and the benefic and malefic planets still play a role in the cycle of transmigration.
The Virgin of the Light, the Judge, sends souls back into the world at suitable
alignments of these entities, ensuring the just deserts of sinners and the eventual
receipt of mysteries and salvation for the righteous.
Generally speaking, when
Jupiter and Venus are in her presence in their own aeons and Saturn and Mars are
behind her, all souls going into the world will become righteous; but when Saturn
and Mars are in her presence and she cannot see Jupiter and Venus, all souls going
into the world will be wicked and unable to find the mysteries of the light (4PSb 383384). However, for those souls that committed no sins but did not receive the
mysteries, the Virgin of the Light places them with the Little Sabaoth, the Good,
until a positive planetary alignment occurs—thus guaranteeing a positive
reincarnation (4PSb 382). There is a conflict, as she here seems to represent the
sun—the planets come into contact with her, and her location, the neutral Midst
(
), is associated with the “light of the sun” (4PSa 355). However, the realm
of the Midst (
) is also considered to be a higher realm than that of the aeons
through which the planets move. Regardless of the specific nature of the Virgin of
Light and her realm here, that at least some of her attributes are tied to those of the
sun seems highly likely. Ptolemy views the sun as a neutral planet (Tetrabiblos I.5),
taking on the attributes of those planets it becomes associated with. Here we have
the Virgin of Light bestowing beneficial lives when in aspect with the benefic planets
in their own aeons,55 and when in aspect with the malefics, all souls that go into
creation become wicked.
55
Interestingly, using the traditional attribution of the planetary houses, with Jupiter and Venus in
their own houses only a sextile aspect is possible; however, if Jupiter is allowed Virgo as suggested in
4PSa, then the powerful, positive trine aspect with Venus becomes possible. However, given the
positive effects associated with opposition in 4PSa, traditionally a negative aspect, one should be
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
6.2.5
Astrology in 3PS
In 3PS, the five great archons—along with the separately delineated archons of the
discs of the sun and moon—are found to be associated with the Heimarmene rather
than the way of the Midst (
), transforming them into the planets by their
relationship with the zodiacal sphere of fate. This is a logical shift given that this
author had no place for the traditional planetary natures, viewing all astrological
phenomena as negative; it was only fitting that the entities which drive men only to
sin and are five in number should be the five non-luminary planets. 56
punishment aspect, however, remains in the way of the Midst (
The
), and indeed
now appears to be its whole function. This perhaps helps to explain why it is phased
out in the following texts, as it no longer serves a distinct purpose, especially given
the introduction of the Chaos in addition to the outer darkness. The neutral Midst
(
), despite its association with the light of the sun, again appears to be located
above the aeons/Heimarmene.57 Thus the two Midsts, the regions terminologically
most likely to be associated with the ecliptic and/or the planets, further develop
astronomically ambiguous (although increasingly morally polarized) statuses,
divorced from direct connection with the celestial entities.
As noted above, the more typical planet representations—along with their
association with the Virgin of Light in 4PSb—are absent here, suggesting that they,
too, have been phased out. It is the Virgin of Light alone who decides the fate of
souls brought before her—here almost exclusively in positive or at least just terms, in
opposition to the passage in 4PSb that condemned souls born while the maleficent
planets were in her presence. The five planetary archons now play an active but
cautious against positing too strong an importance for the traditional powers and roles of these
aspects.
56
The fully negative interpretation of the planets in Manichaeism should also be considered.
57
“…!
C
!
c !
!
:
! ! !
!
!
!
!
!
"
! ! ! !
!
•
!
!
!
!
!
: &&&” (3PS 332-333) There is a more explicit distinction between the aeons and the “way of
the light of the sun” where the Virgin of the Light dwells at 3PS 263 (see also 285 and 290). Based on
the position of this neutral Midst in both earlier (2 Jeu) and later (1/2PS) texts, and the fact that in
these texts it always refers to a region independent of the planets, it seems likely that the phrase “in
the presence of” suggests a border between the region of the archons and that of the Virgin of the
Light, which places that of the Virgin on a higher level.
193
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
wholly negative role in the formation of the human being, each placing its part in the
soul. 58 Furthermore the 365 “ministers” of the archons of the aeons carry the
intangible elements of the human being into the womb and go about forming the
being’s members (3PS 340-344), further tying the body to the solar year and the
machinations of the zodiacal archons. A number of significant dates are “sealed”
onto the child’s body in the womb, including the day the soul came forth from the
archons as well as the time the birth should occur (3PS 343-345).
Ancient
astrological theory considered the date of conception to be as or more important than
the date of birth in determining a person’s horoscope (Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos III.1).59
Evidence for more concrete astronomical influence appears at 3PS 349, when
Jesus describes the placement of the Books of Jeu after Enoch copied them, so they
might be protected from the Flood. Jesus says, “I caused him to place them in the
rock of Ararad, and I placed the archon Kalapatauroth, which is over Skemmut, upon
whose head are the feet of Jeu, and who goes round all the aeons and the
Heimarmene…” Ararad (or Ararat) is known from Gen. 8.4 as the location where
Noah’s ark finally came to rest, tying it to the earlier flood narrative—however, the
fact that this is the only place in the whole of the Pistis Sophia that refers to Genesis
suggests that this detail was likely obtained from another source.60 Relevant here,
rather, is the information regarding the archon charged with guarding the books.
Skemmut (!c!
) is a constellation in Egyptian, possibly the Pleiades. 61 The
Pleiades were also associated with the Flood in Jewish lore. 62 Furthermore, the
Pleiades are located in the constellation of Taurus; one might observe that the latter
part of the name of the archon that is “over” ( "
! ! ) Skemmut, “Kalapatauroth”
58
The sun and moon also play a part; however, they maintain an ambiguous status—they are only
discussed in connection with breathing a higher, positive power into the soul. See 3PS 334-336.
59
The fact that 3PS is the only one of the present texts to discuss the origin and formation of the
human being accounts for the fact that the extremely broad and complex science of astrology in
connection with horoscope calculation is not touched upon in the other texts (although the nature of
the five great archons in 4PSa has implications in this vein).
60
On certain non-mainstream esoteric Christians’ use of the idea of a sacred mountain to deposit
ancient texts, see G. Stroumsa, Another Seed: Studies in Gnostic Mythology (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1984),
115-116.
61
See W.E. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1939), 821.
62
F.C. Burkitt, “Pistis Sophia,” 271, in Journal of Theological Studies, 23 (1922), 271-280; E.W.
Maunder, The Astronomy of the Bible (1908; reprint: Wildside Press LLC, 2007) 222-223; in the
Babylonian Talmud, Berakoth, folio 59a.
194
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
(
), bears some resemblance to the Greek constellation name. It is
possible this is not coincidental, and some remnant of positive celestial guardianship
is here preserved. In any case, clearly some form of astronomical mythology is at
work. Immediately prior to this passage, it states that correct knowledge of “the
establishment of the air and the heaven and the cycles and the stars and the
luminaries and the earth and all things within it” (3PS 349) is necessary to be
recognized as a teacher of truth. The connections to Enoch—who was also thought
to have received astronomical wisdom (1 En 72-82; 2 En 1-48)—may further reflect
this astronomical concern. If the “Books of Jeu” of the Bruce Codex are those
mentioned here in the Pistis Sophia (or if they are not identical but closely related),
then the “mysteries” they contain are likely to relate to their astronomical content—
which has already been presented above as their main concern.
Beyond this section of apparently positive astronomical mythology, in 3PS
we also see the beginnings of the idea that fate could—and should—be escaped by
the faithful, through repentance, righteous living and receipt of the mysteries (3PS
286-291, 298-299, 337, 339-340, 346-347). Previously it was viewed as something
unavoidable, and could potentially have positive as well as negative effects. Now the
full brunt of a malevolent conception of the stars is in place, with the particular faith
and ritual tenets of the author or group thus needed for hope in the afterlife. While at
this point fate itself is still at full power and controls all aspects of the outsider’s
birth, life, and death, this state changes quickly in the following texts.
6.2.6
Astrology in 1 & 2PS
As with all of the texts in the corpus that specify a context, the teachings of 1/2PS
take place after the resurrection.
This is the only text, however, that involves
narrative action for Jesus beyond the roles of instructor or officiant of rituals. As he
and the disciples are sitting on the Mount of Olives “on the 15th of the moon in the
month of Tôbe, which is the day on which the moon becomes full” (1PS 4), the sun
rises and a great light-power comes down, surrounding Jesus and taking him to the
heights. This then happens at the time the luminaries are at full power, between the
sun and the full moon. Three hours after he disappears into the heavens, “all the
powers of the heavens were disturbed, and they all shook against one another, they
195
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
and all their aeons, and all their places and all their ranks and the whole earth moved
with all who dwelled upon it” (1PS 6). This agitation continues until the ninth hour
of the following day, when Jesus returns, resplendent in light.63 This gives a total of
33 hours from initial ascension to return, with 30 hours of cosmic and earthly
disturbance.
Upon his return, Jesus explains to the understandably concerned disciples
where he went and what happened over the course of his disappearance.
He
traversed the cosmic realms, causing awe or terror along the way. Specifically, when
he took up his garment of light and ascended through the spheres, the archons of the
aeons waged war against his light. The description of the encounter with the archons
of the aeons is given four times (1PS 24-25; 26; 37-39; 40-41).
What is first interesting to note is that before reaching the twelve aeons, Jesus
first traverses three regions: the firmament, the sphere, and the second sphere, or
Heimarmene. This division of regions is a clear change from the previous texts,
which associated the twelve aeons/zodiac directly with the Heimarmene—and in fact
in 4PSa, at least, the Heimarmene/sphere was meant as a prison or controlling
mechanism for the aeons (4PSa 356).64 Here the nature of these two regions is both
divided and reversed: the aeons control the Heimarmene. This is likely due to the
change in the view of fate: again, while previously fate was an unchangeable fact of
the universe and could have good or bad effects, likewise it applied to nonhumans as
well as humans, and the archons who persisted in sin were subject to its bonds. Now
that it is a purely negative entity, it is subjected to the will of the evil archons rather
than vice versa. This relationship of control further implies the separation of the
63
It is possible that this return at the ninth hour reflects the Markan tradition (Mk. 15:33) of the
darkness at the crucifixion. While there he dies and here he returns at the ninth hour, both involve a
restoration of light after a period of darkness or chaos. There is minimal evidence the author was
familiar with Mark, however, so this remains conjecture.
64
H.J. Hodges argues that these regions are one and the same here, as well, going so far to support a
standard astronomical view of the whole cosmology as to correct the text: he opts to “interpret
as a haplography for
since this makes more sense in the context…”
(“Gnostic Liberation from Astrological Determinism: Hipparchan ‘Trepidation’ and the Breaking of
Fate,” 367n.49, in Vigiliae Christianae, 51 (1997), 359-373.) He would thus condense the first
sphere, the Heimarmene or second sphere (which is clearly distinct in the description of Jesus’
journey, as well as being called the “second sphere,” “
! !
!
”), and the aeons of the
archons, all into the zodiacal circle—a gross misjudgment of the author’s cosmology and a deliberate
misreading of the text.
196
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
aeons from the zodiac, lifting the aeons to a higher region beyond that celestial
sphere. J. van der Vliet observes that in the Trimorphic Protennoia,
the author’s aim is a demonological interpretation of the archontic regime rather than a
technical description of astrological realities. In PS, the twelve eons, in spite of
apparently being modeled on the zodiac, are at the same time distinct from and superior
to the celestial bodies situated in the two spheres. The archons of the eons use the latter
as instruments in constructing what from the human point of view is Fate. Likewise, in
the Apocryphon of John, the Chief Archon and his powers created Fate ‘and fettered in
measure and times and moments the gods of the heavens and the angels and the demons
and humanity, so that all of them would be in its (scil. Fate’s) bond (
) and it be
master over everyone (BG 72.4-11; Waldstein-Wisse, synopsis, 75-76). Time and space
are a prison governed by Fate on behalf of the archons.65
We can thus see a trend in a number of different non-mainstream esoteric Christian
documents wherein the aeons of the archons are not depicted as the actual physical
zodiac but as transcending it, with the archons as the creators or subjugators of fate
rather than beings subject to its cosmic law. These are concepts that have evidently
been grafted into the author’s system, for as has been demonstrated, in the earlier
texts such is not the case. Even here traces remain of the higher origin of fate and its
courses—as Jesus himself notes, the periods of influence of the Heimarmene and
sphere were originally fixed “through the command of the first ordinance and
through the command of the First Mystery, Jeu the Overseer of the Light had placed
them so that they were looking to the left at all times, as they completed their
(periods of) influence and their action” (1PS 25; see also 1PS 31, 34). In 4PSa it is
Jeu who fixes the archons in the Heimarmene as in a prison and places the planets
over them (4PSa 356, 359).
The results of Jesus’ passage through the spheres and aeons, on the
immediate surface, cause dramatic changes in the nature of the powers of fate: Jesus
announces,
I took a third part of all their power so that they should not work their wicked actions,
and in order that when men who are in the world call upon them in their
mysteries…they are not able to complete them. And (as for) the Heimarmene and the
sphere over which they rule, I turned them and caused them to spend six months turned
to the left, as they complete their (periods of) influence, and to look to the right for six
months, as they complete their (periods of) influence. (1PS 25)66
65
J. van der Vliet, “Fate, Magic and Astrology in Pistis Sophia, Chaps 15-21,”529, in The Wisdom of
Ancient Egypt: Jewish, Early Christian and Gnostic Essays in Honor of Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, A.
Hilhorst and G.H. van Kooten, eds. (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 519-536.
66
See also 1PS 27, 29.
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
The removal of a third part of their power is strongly reminiscent of Rev. 12.4-9,
wherein the dragon casts a third of the stars of heaven to the earth and is
subsequently destroyed by the powers of heaven. The second part of the action—the
turning of the spheres—is more puzzling. H.J. Hodges proposes that it is connected
with the precession of the equinoxes as discovered by Hipparchus:67 however, the
long, unobservable process of the precession is incompatible with the swift changes
of Jesus’ ascension or the rotation of the spheres. The events described do not match
the theory proposed. Van der Vliet’s suggestion is far more attractive, connecting
the idea to a passage from Plato’s Statesman (269ff).68 This passage attributes the
dual motion of the cosmos to periodic intervention by an extrinsic divine cause
which corrects its motion; thus it moves one direction when left to its own devices,
and in the opposite direction when under corrective guidance.
“Plato’s
representation of a destructive course of the world that needs to be reverted
influenced later and, in particular, Christian concepts of Fate, which links it to the
astrological and soteriological discourse of PS.”69
This notion further fits in with the stipulations that follow the announcement
of this cosmic reordering.
When the astrologers find the Heimarmene and the sphere turned to the left, according
to their first distribution, then their words concur and they will say what is due to
happen. But when they meet the Heimarmene or the sphere turned to the right, they do
not speak anything of the truth, because I have turned their (periods of) influence and
their quadrangles and their triangles and their figures of eight… Likewise also the
soothsayers, when they call upon the name of the archons, and they meet them looking
to the left, everything concerning which they will seek of their decans, they will tell
them with certainty. However, when their soothsayers call upon their names as they are
looking to the right, they will not hear them, because they look in another form than
their first ordinance in which Jeu established them, since their names are other when
they are turned to the left than when they are turned to the right. (1PS 30-31)
The limits to the powers of the astrologers, soothsayers, and other purveyors of astral
magic only apply fifty percent of the time—the rest of the time when the spheres
move in their accustomed direction, all of these powers work without hindrance.
This hardly appears to be an overwhelming victory of the Incarnation over the bonds
of fate. However, it does fit with the concept of the cosmos being regularly corrected
67
H.J. Hodges, “Gnostic Liberation,” 369-373.
J. van der Vliet, “Fate, Magic and Astrology in Pistis Sophia,” 530.
69
J. van der Vliet, “Fate, Magic and Astrology in Pistis Sophia,” 530. It must be noted however that
this concept is limited to this portion of the Pistis Sophia, and in fact that positive traces of fate’s
origin from earlier iterations of the cosmic structure are present even here, as has been noted above.
68
198
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
in its motion by divine intervention (Jesus), while the rest of the time it is allowed to
go in its own, opposite direction, the science of which allows for the accurate usage
of astrology and other forms of divination.
Yet the limited obstruction of the diviners does not stop with the changed
spherical motions:
I have now caused them to spend six months turned to the left, and six months turned to
the right. He who now will find their reckoning from the time when I turned them,
placing them to spend six months looking to their left hand parts, and six months
looking to their right hand paths, and who will now consult them in this way, will know
their (period of) influence with certainty, and he will predict all things that they will do.
(1PS 30)
Thus, an intelligent astrologer may be able to completely overcome the limitation by
virtue of calculating the times for either rotation. Finally, anyone who knows the
mysteries and magic of the thirteenth aeon will always use it accurately, for as Jesus
states, “I have not taken power from that place, according to the command of the
First Mystery” (1PS 29). What initially appears to be a powerful change in the
cosmos and a serious hindrance for astrologers and magicians now appears to be a
minor inconvenience overcome with relative ease. The powers of fate and magic are
still active in the world, and their knowledge accessible to those who know how to
ascertain it. Despite their evil nature they were established through divine channels,
and Jesus’ actions were never intended to achieve a full defeat over them, by the
decree of the First Mystery.
Van der Vliet summarizes the nature of contradiction and harmonization in
the 1PS text in the following terms:
The author’s technical appreciation of magic and astrology is balanced by ethical and
demonological rejection. Against the background of this dilemma, his paradoxical
attitude towards the occult sciences can be resolved. His astonishing concessions are
meant to make room for a primarily technical understanding of magic and astrology,
considering as scientifically or at least empirically undeniable facts. Instead of blaming
Jesus with failure, he adopts a sophisticated though apparently contradictory attitude
that accepts basic categories but nevertheless allows an ethically motivated distance.
Thus he goes beyond many of the standard polemics against magic in negotiating a
common ground where both the scholar and the Christian may tread.70
6.2.7
Summary of Astrological Influence
A strong astronomical/astrological presence is detectable from the earliest to the
latest stages of these texts; however, the nature of that presence reverses itself from
70
J. van der Vliet, “Fate, Magic and Astrology in Pistis Sophia,” 536.
199
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
the beginning to the end. Originating with a complex view of the celestial sky as
composing the divine realm, the observable sky becomes increasingly detached from
the divine, eventually becoming an actively malevolent force operating against
humanity. Specific entities early associated with these realms, such as Jeu or the
Virgin of Light, remain positive—but the regions in which they dwell and operate
become divorced from the visible cosmos. A system combining the typical Greek
conceptions of the planets with a wholly negative set of sublunar archons is
introduced, which is quickly reduced to a single set of purely negative planets. The
concept of the Midst (either the Coptic or Greek term) is entirely removed from that
of the ecliptic, which is tied to the twelve aeons, the Heimarmene, or both. The
Coptic Midst is phased out of the system after its role in influencing human sin is
reassigned elsewhere. In the final stages, even as astrology is viewed as a fully
negative science, its original organization by divine channels is acknowledged, and
its apparent empirical evidence in the world is not denied.
Even in this final
iteration, it is not fate—the Heimarmene—itself that is considered evil; despite their
fear, the beings within it offer Jesus praises in his ascent. The true source of evil and
rebellion has been made to transcend fate itself, making the fate-spheres simply
controlled by malevolent entities. In his ascent Jesus affects these spheres but does
not destroy their power fully, through the decree of the First Mystery. As important
a role as Jesus comes to fill, the only way to truly escape the bonds of fate and the
chains of the archons is to receive the mysteries professed by the community of the
author—the mysteries which present the one constant through all of the texts.
6.3 MAGICAL NAMES AND WORDS
The debate on the definition of “magic” and its distinction from “religion” has been
raging for millennia. The boundaries are quite fluid, and are largely influenced by
the culture of the individual doing the defining. As A.F. Segal has noted, “no
definition of magic can be universally applicable because ‘magic’ can not and should
not be construed as a properly scientific term. Its meaning changes as the context in
which it is used changes. No single definition of magic can be absolute, since all
200
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
definitions of magic are relative to the culture and sub-culture under discussion.”71
One person’s magic is another’s religious act. Thus, despite elements in both the
Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia that might be considered “magical” by some
definitions, this section will be limited to a discussion of names and phrases of
power, or nomina barbara, found predominantly in the Greek Magical Papyri and
other ancient Greco-Egyptian magical ritual sources. While the roles of traditional
Egyptian religion and Greco-Egyptian astrology have been discussed above, this
section supplements these, covering an important subsection of ancient GrecoEgyptian esoteric culture.
Due to the esoteric nature of these names and phrases, concrete explanations
are impossible in most cases. Their use in the magical papyri is fluid and they can
appear in a variety of circumstances, limiting one’s understanding of the reasoning
behind the selection of the particular names preserved in 4PSa. Indeed, the fact that
these recognizable magical names occur primarily in 4PSa is remarkable in itself.72
It suggests that the author of that text was particularly interested in connecting the
Jeuian system with what he felt were established names of power, and furthermore
that such a preoccupation was not widely shared within the group and was thus
allowed to be phased out.
The primary purpose of this section is to further
demonstrate the cultural environment in which these texts took form. The author of
4PSa was writing within a culture where practical religion or magical handbooks of a
type typical of Greco-Roman Egypt flourished.
6.3.1
Aberamentho
The name “Aberamentho” is used three times to refer to Jesus. It is spelled in two
different ways (
/
), and in two cases corrections were
71
A.F. Segal, “Hellenistic Magic: Some Questions of Definition,” 350-351, in Studies in Gnosticism
and Hellenistic Religions: presented to Gilles Quispel on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, R. van
den Broek and M.J. Vermaseren, eds. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), 349-375.
72
With a few exceptions: the name
: C
C appears once in 4PSb, and Typhon in the fragment
on the archons of the Midst (
) found in the Bruce Codex. Both of these texts are highly
fragmentary, preventing analysis of any further parallels. In these instances these figures both
maintain the same roles they do in their 4PSa appearances, suggesting a steady tradition in those
specific instances; however, the fact that these same beings appear elsewhere in the corpus but without
these more common “magical” names suggests that they were ultimately short-lived associations. The
name Jao also appears in several of the Jeuian texts as well as quite frequently in the magical papyri;
see below, n.85.
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
inserted in the manuscript. This lack of concern for consistency is seen further in the
spelling of
: C
C, which also appears as C : C
C (4PSa 356).
Although certainly there was flexibility in the spelling of certain names, the variety
of spellings found within this single text suggests that the author was either ignorant
of or not terribly concerned with the more traditional use of these terms. In the
Greek Magical Papyri, Aberamentho is frequently used as shorthand for a much
longer palindromic phrase, Αβεραµενθωουθλερθεχαναχεθρελθυοωθενεµαρεβα.73
G. Massey claims the name represents Jesus as “lord of Amente/Amentho”
and sets him in the position of Horus in Amente;74 this proposal has received little
scholarly attention or support. Beyond the issues of etymology, in 4PSa—the only
text in which he is called Aberamentho—Amente does not exist. In 4PSb, where
Jesus does speak with the disciples in Amente, he does not have this title. Massey’s
overall view of the texts blends all of the Pistis Sophia documents into a whole,
resulting in some erroneous assumptions and confusing conclusions. F.C. Burkitt
suggests that the name is derived from ‘Rhadamanthus,’ one of the Greek lords of the
underworld. The argument is hinged on a magical spell of the Leiden Papyrus
invoking Typhon Seth, one of whose ‘authentic names’ is Aberamenthōu, and whose
other authentic names may represent some other ancient underworld deities such as
the Sumerian goddess Ereshkigal.75 Thus he suggests that the author of the spell was
collecting various foreign names for the Lord of the Underworld, some of which
were misspelled, and that the name ‘Rhadamanthus’ had been misread and
transformed into Aberamentho. He states, “Rhadamanthus in Classical tradition was
just and kindly, as is the Aberamentho of Pistis Sophia.”76
There are a number of problems with this theory.77 Burkitt was working with
the limited information of a single spell. The Greek Magical Papyri contain several
examples of the name Aberamentho, as part of the palindrome or as shorthand for
73
H.D. Betz, ed., The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1992), 331. Magical palindromes often had over 30 letters, sometimes 100 or more, and thus common
ones were often abbreviated in formulae.
74
G. Massey, Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World, 772.
75
In the PGM, XIVc.16-27.
76
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis: A study of Christian thought and speculation in the Second
Century (London: Cambridge University Press, 1932), 83.
77
C. Bonner also calls this theory “futile speculation” (Studies in Magical Amulets, Chiefly GraecoEgyptian [Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1950]), 203.
202
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
it.78 This palindrome has few obvious ties to underworld deity names. It is used to
address a variety of gods for a variety of purposes. Furthermore, the spell Burkitt
refers to is addressed to Typhon, who appears later in 4PSa as a wicked archon. The
spell itself is calling on Typhon to strike down a rival; hardly presenting itself as
representative of a kindly underworld figure. Finally, contrary to Burkitt’s theory, in
this text Jesus does not, in fact, act as an underworld deity. He believes that it is
Jesus as Aberamentho who arranges for souls to be sporadically released from the
torments of the wicked Midst (
),79 but the text contains no inkling of this. It is
Jeu who arranges the planets, their motions, and their workings.
M. Tardieu proposes that the Aberamentho palindrome derives from an
amalgam of terms, specifically here the Hebrew phrase for “power of waters” and the
Greek version of the name of the Egyptian god Thoth, sometimes considered to be
the Egyptian Hermes. It would thus ultimately refer to Thoth in a position of power
over the waters. As in the Greco-Roman period Thoth was assimilated to Hermes,
his powers over water were combined with Hermes’ as lord over the world and
elements. In the Pistis Sophia, “Jésus est Aberamenthō parce qu’il exerce la fonction
d’Hermès-Thot comme souverain de tous les στοιχεῖα, lettres et elements.” 80 He
cites part of the opening of the book as evidence; thus as Jesus stands upon the water
and recites the names of the Father, he personifies the deities represented by the
palindrome. J. Fossum and B. Glazer support this theory, stating that by virtue of
these actions “he is the Lord of the waters and the formulas controlling the cosmic
powers.”81
This theory, however, is not beyond question. It assumes that the author of
this text would have been familiar with the Hebrew meaning of part of the
palindrome, although there is little sign that the authors of any of the Jeuian texts had
a familiarity with Hebrew. If this etymology was common knowledge, it is not made
obvious through the instances in which the palindrome is used. Furthermore, the
78
PGM I.294; II.125-126; III.67, 116-117; IV.181, 3272; V.180; XXXVI.8; LIX.6; CXXVI.13.
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 81.
80
M. Tardieu, “Aberamenthō,” 416-417, in Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions: presented
to Gilles Quispel on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, R. van den Broek and M.J. Vermaseren, eds.
(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), 412-418.
81
J. Fossum and B. Glazer, “Seth in the Magical Texts,” 92, in Zeitschrift für Papryologie und
Epigraphik 100 (1994), 86-92.
79
203
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
passage referring to the ocean is as follows: “
"
! !
!
”
!i!
(4PSa
! !
353).
! !
Tardieu’s
interpretation ignores the fact that standing with Jesus “upon” the ocean are all of his
disciples, and this before they have received the mysteries; it is not Jesus alone
showing personal power over the waters. Although the word given,
"
! ! , is most
frequently translated “upon,” it can also mean “beside,” and it is thus that V.
MacDermot translates the passage. This paints an easier picture of the scene, as in
addition to Jesus and the disciples, it is stated that there is an altar with Jesus
standing “ "
! ! ” it and the disciples behind him. If they are standing upon an ocean,
it seems likely to be a figurative one. At any rate, the name Aberamentho is not
applied to him in the passage concerning the ocean, for reasons to be discussed
below. Furthermore, the “cosmic powers” which Jesus controls in this immediate
context—“the archons and the powers and the angels and the archangels, and all the
powers and all things of the Invisible God Agrammachamarei and the Barbelo, the
leech” (4PSa 354)—are all material entities, and are in fact primarily controlled by
Jeu at this point. While Thoth ruled the stars and individual destinies, and Hermes
was considered a cosmic deity and world-ruler,82 in the Jeuian texts these are lower
roles, and Jesus himself is far above them.
Hermes Trismegistus himself, the
combination of these figures arising in the Hermetic tradition, is essentially an
enlightened human, and in any case is far from being the son or power of the highest
Father that Jesus represents.
It seems unlikely that the author would wish to
associate Jesus with Thoth, Hermes, or Thoth-Hermes/Hermes Trismegistus. Rather,
his power and knowledge of divine names and mysteries is far superior to any of
these figures.
A. Mastrocinque also proposes a reason for the attribution of the name to
Jesus, based around his larger argument for a prevalence in certain groups of
serpentine solar figures and a possible etymology of the full palindrome which
divides it in four parts and associates them with the four directions: “Jesus was
merged with the magical Egyptianizing god known as Aberamentho because he was
82
G. Fowden, The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1986), 22-26.
204
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
a serpentiform god residing in the celestial pole in the extreme North, and was also a
solar deity.”83 There is, however, no suggestion that Jesus is meant to have the form
of a serpent—there is no reference to such a form in the text at all, and the one
description of a dragon in 4PSa is discussed in a separate context; nor indeed is there
any inkling that Jesus was considered a solar deity, in part because he was considered
superior to the cosmic entities. Indeed, the dragon mentioned above is described as
the disc of the sun, and it is quite independent from Jesus. If any figure is likely to
be a sun god in this text it is Jeu, one of the two great lights.
The attribution of this common name of ritual power to Jesus is more likely
related exclusively to his earthly body or functions in the aeonic or material realms,
as opposed to his true divine nature. This is likely as in each of the three instances he
is referred to with the name Aberamentho, it is in either the context of his earthly
incarnation or controlling of the lower material powers. First it is before he requests
the archons of the material aeons to move (4PSa 354); next, as he explains that the
Father of his Father is Jeu—thus referring to Sabaoth the Good, Jeu’s offspring and
the father of his power or soul in his earthly form, as explained in greater detail in
1/2PS (4PSa 360);84 and finally, as he discusses the elements he brought with him
into the world in the form of his earthly body (4PSa 367). The name is not used
when he is associated with the Father of the Treasury of Light directly—for example,
when he prays to that Father in the passage beside the ocean—nor when he promises
the higher mysteries or presents the baptism to include the disciples in the Kingdom.
The fact that Jesus is the only higher entity given such a common name of power
here further supports the proposition that it refers only to his material or cosmic
functions.
While it is likely that the author viewed Aberamentho as being a
particularly powerful or efficacious name, suitable for the figure of Jesus with all his
earthly powers and wisdom, it is unlikely that an association with Thoth/Hermes, or
any other deity, was in mind.
83
A. Mastrocinque, From Jewish Magic to Gnosticism (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 191.
See especially 1PS 123-125, 2PS 127-129 for interpretations of the formation of Jesus’ body and
Sabaoth’s role; see also Section 4.3. Sabaoth the Good is explicitly called by Jesus “He whom I have
called my Father” at 2PS 195, again clearly referring to his earthly form as opposed to his higher
connection to the First Mystery.
84
205
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
6.3.2
Maskelli
The next closest approximation to a positive adoption comes in the form of the being
named “Zarazaz” whose gaze destroys the places of the fourth great archon of the
Midst (
). This Zarazaz is the one “whom the archons call by the name of a
powerful archon of their places, Maskelli” (
! !
!
4PSa 365).
C
! "
:
!
!
C
"
;
One notices that Zarazaz himself, who must belong to the higher,
spiritual place of the right, is not named Maskelli—it is in fact the name of one of the
material archons, which the archons apply to Zarazaz as well.
“Maskelli” maintains a material, archontic association.
Thus the name
85
The Maskelli figure in the magical papyri—as with Aberamentho, a name
more typically found as part of a longer formula—also appears in a variety of
capacities, but perhaps most frequently associated with “necessity” (ἀνάγκη) or
“destiny.” 86 That this name is associated with “a powerful archon of their [the
archons’] places” is quite interesting, as the archons are in this body of texts
associated with fate. It is not clear why this particular entity is singled out to be
called by the name of an archon, but the selection of this name in particular may be
related to a combination of the popularity of the Maskelli formula in spells, and its
ties to destiny.
6.3.3
Agrammachamarei
Moving down the hierarchy, the invisible god of the thirteenth aeon is once called
a
C
(4PSa 354), another name found frequently in the magical
papyri with a few variant spellings. First, it should be observed that this name
appears in a list of entities that Jesus commands to move out of the way, quoted
85
This form of referring to a higher being by one of the lower, archontic names occurs in one other
place, notably in 2PS (196), where it states that the archons of the aeons call the great hegumen of the
Midst (
) “the Great Jao, according to the name of a great archon of their place.” This is
striking as the Great Jao appears as early as 2 Jeu where he is associated with the Treasury, and in
later texts associated with the Midst, but this is the only instance where it is suggested that this is not
his proper name. Perhaps by the time 2PS was composed, the name had greater stigma attached to it
from its frequent use in magical practices.
86
See PGM III.121; VII.302, IX.10, XXXVI.342-346.
206
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
above. By being associated with the invisible god of the thirteenth aeon, it is a name
describing a material being, which is subject to commands from a higher rank.
Ascribing the invisible god a “magical” name would have been thought to give
greater power over him—a practice seen also with the planets in this text, which in
addition to their usual names, “by which the men of the world call them” (4PSa 357),
are given “imperishable” names unknown from the currently preserved magical
papyri, but which are nonetheless of the same ilk. G. Scholem proposes an Aramaic
origin for the name Akramachamarei, from whence comes the imperative phrase,
“uproot the magic spells.”87 However, there is again little sign that this linguistic
origin or semantic meaning played a role in its selection for use here. Interestingly,
there is a curse tablet featuring Ἀχραµαχαµαρει as “master and ruler of the heavenly
firmament;”88 this would reflect a fitting role for the invisible god in the thirteenth
aeon, ruler of the height of the material realm.
6.3.4
: C
Bainchoooch
C appears twice, once in each 4PSa and b. It is used to refer to the same
figure both times: the neutral triple-powered one. This name is used frequently in the
magical papyri, and although it can be part of a longer palindrome, it is more
commonly seen in this form, which is translated to “soul of Khukh,” god of
darkness.89 This is the only triple-powered one that interacts with human souls in a
semi-positive way, escorting those souls that lived righteously but did not receive the
mysteries to allow them access to the Treasury of Light, and teaching them of the
creation of the world with gladness (4PSb 382). This then appears to be another case
of a name being considered particularly efficacious, and being thus associated with a
figure that plays an active role with the human realm and particular souls.
87
G. Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (New York: The
Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1965), 97.
88
A. Audollent, Defixionum Tabellae (Paris, 1904), 325, II. 7-8; cited in G. Scholem, Jewish
Gnosticism, 96.
89
See H.D. Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri, 18n.3.
207
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
6.3.5
Hekate and Typhon
Finally, both Hekate and Typhon appear as great archons of the Midst (
),
tormenting the souls of sinners. Although these names apply to divine figures found
outside of magical contexts as well, they are included here for their frequency of
appearance amongst the magical papyri. In 4PSa, Hekate is described as three-faced;
this is in keeping with Greco-Egyptian magical tradition, which frequently depicts
her as three-formed. 90 As a goddess of magic among other things, she is not
automatically considered an evil being.
Typhon’s form, although not given a
physical description in 4PSa, is slightly elaborated in the parallel fragment in the
Bruce Codex, where he is said to have an ass’s face (2 Jeu 141). This, too, is in
keeping with common Typhon imagery, the Greek name of the evil Egyptian god
Seth. 91 Both figures are used frequently in the magical papyri, for a variety of
purposes. As with the previously discussed names borrowed from magical tradition,
there is no immediately obvious reason for these particular figures to have been
imported; nor are the origins of the other three great archons of the Midst (
)
clear.
6.3.6
Thernopsi Formula
One other formula deserves a brief mention here. The “Thernopsi” formula is a
series of words basically composed by rearranging the syllables ψι, νω, and θερ:
ψινωθερ νωψιθερ θερνωψι. It appears at least twice in the Greek Magical Papyri,
with another instance perhaps including corruptions or variant readings.92 Psinother
derives from the Egyptian for “son of God.”93 The formula appears twice in 4PSa,
again with variant spellings, as is typical also with the names discussed above (4PSa
90
See PGM IV.2119,2608-2610,2727,2880; XXXVI.190; see also C. Bonner, Studies in Magical
Amulets, nos. 64, 66; A. Delatte and Ph. Derchaine, Les intailles magiques gréco-égyptiennes de la
Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1964), 189, nos. 252, 253, 254.
91
For Typhon as the evil Seth or opponent of the sun, see for example PGM XII.373-374; XXXIIa.1;
XXXVI.319; LVII.4; LXVIII.1; LXXVIII.7
92
See PGM III.186; IV.828-829; VII.316; also H. Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri, 339.
93
E. Amélineau, Essai sur le Gnosticisme égyptien: Ses développements et son origine égyptienne
(Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1887), 320; P.D. Scott-Moncrieff, Paganism and Christianity in Egypt, 170n.1;
H.D. Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri, 54n.112; M.W. Meyer, ed., The Ancient Mysteries: A
Sourcebook (1987; reprint: Philadelphia: University of Philadelphia Press, 1999), 212. Alternatively,
T. Hopfner (Griechisch-ägyptischer Offenbarungszauber, Vol. 1 [Leipzig: Haessel, 1921], sec. 750)
proposes that the formula derives from the Egyptian for “highest god.”
208
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
353, 370). In both instances they appear in appeals for the Father of the Treasury of
Light (as opposed to Sabaoth the Good, Jesus’ earthly “father”) to hear, immediately
after a series of permutations of the letters of ιαω. A few other unknown magical
words are common to both of these invocations, while in the first a number of other
common magical words also appear. It should be clarified that these invocations do
not represent a name or names of this highest Father—that name is not written down.
These written lists of names of power contain those of lower entities such as Jeu and
Sabaoth, suggesting that these words are meant to get the hearer’s attention and act
as signifiers of the speakers’ wider divine knowledge.94 Regardless of whether the
etymological origin or meaning of the phrase was known, it is clear that the author
felt it appropriate in an address to the highest entity of his system.
6.3.7
Summary of Magical Name Usage
This demonstrates that the author of 4PSa in particular had both access to and
interest in names and verbal formulae found primarily in practical ritual or “magical”
texts of a Greco-Egyptian provenance. These elements are not found together in any
one particular spell or text, but are scattered across a variety of sources, suggesting
both the popularity of the terms for ritual use and the variety of materials the author
of 4PSa may potentially have utilized. Despite the proposed etymological origins of
several of the above terms, there is little evidence that the author had these in mind in
selecting these particular elements for incorporation. Rather, it seems that they were
chosen for their perceived power. Aside from the thernopsi formula, which while
addressed to the highest Father does not pertain to him directly, they relate to entities
dwelling or acting in the material realm. This perhaps in the author’s mind explained
why they could be called upon in more material ritual contexts. In Jesus’ case, the
name Aberamentho is related purely to his material incarnation and powers, as
opposed to his spiritual origin in the Treasury of Light. This maintains the division
between the upper, spiritual elements and the lower, material ones in the author’s
system.
94
So for example at 4PSa 354, after giving a list of such names, then the text simply says that Jesus
“cried out again, saying the name of the Father of the Treasury of the Light.”
209
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
6.4 MANICHAEISM
Although several of the core beliefs of the Manichaeans are either not present or
outright contradicted in the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, it is possible to see
traces of what may have been originally Manichaean ideas in them.
More
speculatively, given the likelihood of a temporally parallel development of these
traditions, the syncretistic nature of both groups, and the widespread nature of
Manichaeism, it might be possible that some influence traveled from the Jeuian
group to the Manichaeans as well, as will be discussed at the end of this section.
6.4.1
The Virgin of Light
The Virgin of Light is one of the most obvious starting points to look for Manichaean
influence, as this figure is prominent in Manichaean literature.
Upon further
inspection, however, the connection essentially ends at the name of the figure. In
Manichaeism the Virgin of Light is associated with the moon;95 in the Pistis Sophia
she is tied to the sun.96 In the former her main role is in exciting the archons to
release their light and (in part) in transporting it to the light realm (Keph VII 35.1517);97 in the latter she acts as the judge and main arbiter of transmigration of souls. It
is interesting to note the Manichaean connection of Jesus with the moon98 and its
presentation of Jesus as the eschatological Judge at the end of the Great War
(Shabuhragan 60-160).99 As Jesus and the Virgin of the Light both originate from
the Third Messenger (Keph VII), they might thus both be connected with the
95
See P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism I (course notes, Early Iranian Civilizations 103,
2006 Fall term), 48.
96
2PS 186, and indirectly at 4PSa 355, by associating the Midst with the sun; the Midst is always the
abode of the Virgin of Light in these texts. See also A. Dieterich, Abraxas: Studien zur
Religionsgeschichte des spätern Altertums (Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1891), 101.
97
See S.N.C. Lieu, Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China: A Historical
Survey (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985), 15; P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to
Manicheism I, 47. Note that although she is referred to as judge at one point, she is so called with a
masculine form: “Oh judge of (all) the worlds…O true father of the orphans, the (husband…) of the
grieving widow…(O) Perfect Man, virgin of light, draw my soul to you (from this) abyss” (I. Gardner
and S.N.C.Lieu, Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2004], 85).
98
P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism I, 48; An Introduction to Manicheism II - Texts
(course notes, Early Iranian Civilizations 103, 2006 Fall term), 11 (BT 11 no.3.4).
99
See translation in D.N MacKenzie, “Mani’s Šābuhragān,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London 42 (1979), 500-534. As Skjærvø notes, this account closely
follows Mt. 25:31-46 (An Introduction to Manicheism I, 53).
210
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
masculine entity taking the role of Judge. However, the role is still not the same as
that of the Virgin of the Light in the Pistis Sophia: in the latter she judges souls in the
here and now, determining their fate in reincarnation, while Jesus in the
Shabuhragan acts as final Judge when the darkness and sinners are sealed away
forever.
The Virgin of the Light is called upon to participate in the baptism of fire in 2
Jeu (110-111), a rite performed in the world, while the Manichaeans eschewed all
external rites and worldly purifications (Augustine, Contra Faustum 20:3-4), 100
viewing matter as inherently evil such that no amount of cleansing can purify it.
Portions of the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia both have a strong emphasis on
baptisms and rituals to rid the earthly body of archontic influence, and the Virgin of
Light plays a key role in at least one of these rites. Thus, although the title is similar,
the actual nature and role of the figure is significantly different between these
traditions.
6.4.2
Solar and Lunar Imagery
The image of the sun and the moon as ships, transporting the Third Messenger and
the Virgin of Light and collecting light from the archons, is key in the Manichaean
myth. Celestial boat imagery appears only once in all of the Jeuian texts: “But the
base of the moon was of the type of a boat, and a male dragon and a female dragon
steered it, while two white bulls drew it. And the likeness of a child was at the back
of the moon, and guided the dragons as they stole the light of the archons from them,
while a cat-face was in front of it” (4PSa 354-355). Here then, it is only the moon
which is depicted as a boat, while immediately preceding this passage the disc of the
sun appears as a dragon with its tail in its mouth, carrying “the seven powers of the
left”—the seven planets. The two dragons steering the boat of the moon most likely
represent the lunar nodes, also considered important in the Manichaean myth: the
Shabuhragan specifically states that the beings forming the firmament “attached the
100
See also L. Cirillo, “The Mani Logion: ‘The Purification That Was Spoken About Is That Which
Comes Through Gnosis’ (CMC 84, 9-12)” in New Light on Manichaeism: Papers from the Sixth
International Congress on Manichaeism, J.D. Beduhn, ed. (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 45-59. Although
J.K. Coyle warns against taking Faustus’ statements at face value (Manichaeism and Its Legacy
[Leiden: Brill, 2009], 90), his examples to the contrary derive from “Gnostic” evidence—including
the Pistis Sophia—not from Manichaean sources.
211
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
seven planets and suspended the two dragons (= the lunar nodes) and chained them”
(Shabuhragan M 98-99).101 However, in the Manichaean sources, these nodes or
“Ascendants” were considered evil, sometimes serving to replace the positivelyviewed sun and moon in the list of seven planets with their evil natures102--whereas
here they are part and parcel of the lunar package, working towards the collection of
the light from the archons.
This passage has been used to support Egyptian connections for the Pistis
Sophia, and such connections have been discussed above. However, despite the solar
snake imagery in ancient Egypt, as far as boat imagery goes the solar barque was far
more important to the Egyptians than a lunar one—and no solar ship appears here;
also neither the sun nor the moon was thought to collect light. This concept of light
collection is key in the Manichaean system. In this way the Pistis Sophia passage
seems more closely tied to Manichaean imagery than Egyptian, although still the
correspondences are far from exact. Furthermore, the lack of connection of the
images in this passage with anything else in the texts suggests that this is an insertion
from an external source (although the following material has apparently been
conflated as well).
6.4.3
Purification of Light
The purification of light within matter is an important concept in both the
Manichaean and Jeuian texts. The process of purification is at times more immediate
and visceral in Manichaean tradition: the bodies of the elect purify the light trapped
within fruits and vegetables by digesting them.103 The initial process of making the
archons give up the light they had swallowed, however, is slightly closer to what is
found in the Jeuian texts, if again the latter is less graphic: a heavenly being (or
beings) appears before them and causes them to unwillingly give up their purified
light, then takes that light back to the treasury or kingdom of light; the remainder or
dregs go into the world to be purified. As seen above, the sun and the moon work
together in some capacity to bring this about. 4PSa says that Jeu and Melchisedek
are “the great lights. Their rank is this, that they come down to the archons and they
101
Referenced in P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism II - Texts, 29.
T. Pettipiece, Pentadic Redaction in the Manichaean Kephalaia (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 63-64.
103
See references in S.N.C. Lieu, Manichaeism, 21n.122.
102
212
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(the lights) are purified in them.
And Zorokothora Melchisedek takes what is
purified of the lights which have been purified in the archons, and takes them to the
Treasury of the Light” (4PSa 360). It is possible that these two were at this time
associated with the sun and the moon; with Jeu’s potential association with the sun in
1 Jeu and Zorokothora as the other great light here, this cannot be wholly discounted.
It is not explicit, however, and in 1PS the receivers of the sun and moon both report
to Melchisedek (1PS 35), who is of the place of the right above the cosmic spheres
(2PS 195). At any rate, there is no boat imagery associated with them, nor the
vomiting or lustful ejaculations of the light found in the Manichaean texts.
Further connections can be made from other aspects of the narratives,
however. First, there are two accounts of light being unwillingly extracted from the
sons of darkness and archons before the creation of the world in the Manichaean
myth: the Living Spirit appears before the sons of darkness, causing them to vomit
part of their light; and the Third Messenger with the Virgin of Light appear before
the archons, causing them in lust to ejaculate part of theirs. 104 In each case, the
divine being takes what is pure of their light and the remaining mixture goes into the
formation of the world. The Shabuhragan explains that the being Âz taught lust to
the demons, who produced misbirths, which Âz in turn devours through the male and
female demons it had formed as garments for itself. The male and female demons of
Âz then mingle and produce Adam, who possesses most of the light power that had
been consumed through the misbirths of the earlier demons (Shabuhragan M 7984.1;
7982).105 Thus goes the story of the creation of the first human.
The elements of 1) purified light being taken directly from the archons and
transported to the light-realm while yet-to-be purified mixture goes into the world, 2)
the development of the human being and the soul from that mixture, and 3) the
archons consuming their own matter all play roles in the Pistis Sophia, although in
104
See P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism I, 47. It should also be noted that the imagery of
a divine being appearing before flawed lower beings and inciting them to ejaculate their illicit lightpower out of lust is also found in Epiphanius’ description of the Nicolaitans (Pan 25.2.4), where it is
Barbelo who is the mother of the archons and who appears before them to collect their seed to recover
her power. In that case, however, the story is apparently used to excuse wanton sexuality within the
group, whereas the Manichaeans depict the lust and sexuality of the archons as the basest of things, to
be avoided.
105
See P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism II - Texts, 34.
213
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
different contexts. The boat of the moon stealing (
! ! ) the light of the archons
has already been mentioned, minus the bodily imagery of vomit or semen. In 3PS,
the light that is purified within the archons is taken away by Melchisedek, but the
remainder goes into a soul which then has the opportunity for purification in the
world. This new soul is formed from “the sweat of the archons, and from the tears of
their eyes, or else from the breath of their mouths”—in other words, the dregs of the
matter of the archons (3PS 333-334). A more in-depth description of the formation
of the whole human being comes in 3PS 340-345, but there is no description of the
creation of Adam or the first man. Rather, the production of any human being is
explained, with the system of reincarnation already in place; and it is through this
system that the soul has opportunities to purify the dregs from which it derives. This
use of the material dregs to form the souls of men and the creatures of the world is
reiterated in 1PS 35,106 and it is also in this text that the description of the archons
consuming their own matter is found.
In the Manichaean texts, Âz wished to
preserve itself from destruction brought on by the gradual purification of the light out
of itself, and thus consumed the abortions of matter. In 1PS, after Melchisedek had
come and collected the power of the archons of the aeons and Heimarmene, they
began to swallow their own matter instead of allowing it to go into the world as souls
so they might not become completely powerless and weak (1PS 36). The themes of
purification of light in the archons, that power being taken by a representative of the
light realm, the remaining dregs going into the world for further purification through
humans living properly, and the archons attempting to retain power by consuming
their own matter, are thus common to both traditions, despite the vehicles and
specific imagery being different.
6.4.4
The Five Trees
The concept of the five trees is another potential tie between these two bodies of
literature. The five trees certainly play an important, if vague, role in the Jeuian
106
See also 2PS 249, where the Savior says, “Now you especially are the dregs of the Treasury, and
you are the dregs of the place of those of the right, and you are the dregs of all the invisible ones and
all the archons”—indicating that mankind derives not only from traces of light found in the archons,
but from the higher realms as well. However, “the emanations of the light have no need for the
mysteries, for they are purified; but the race of mankind have need because they are all material
dregs.” (2PS 250) Their mixed origin still requires a great deal of struggle before they are purified.
214
CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
texts, appearing in every version of the list of mysteries one must receive to attain a
place in the heights.107 The potential connection of these trees to the planets in 1 Jeu
has already been discussed, in a phase when astrology still had the potential to be
positive. The explanation of the five trees given in 2PS, when such a view would no
longer have been feasible, ties a number of important figures from the place of the
right to the trees, including Jeu and Melchisedek (2PS 194-195)—in other words, the
five trees are associated with beings of the light-realms, albeit one of the lower lightrealms at this point in the group’s cosmological development.108
The five trees in Manichaean literature—at least, in as much as remains
today—are tied to the forces of darkness, beginning in the lands of darkness and
bearing evil fruit (Keph VI 30.19-21; XV 48.14-16). This is a far cry from the high
view of the five trees found in the Jeuian texts. It should be noted, however, that
these five trees together constitute the “Tree of Death,” the counterpart to the “Tree
of Life” that contains all good things in the kingdom of light.109 While it is possible
that five light trees were also posited, the mirror reflection of those in the realm of
darkness, insufficient evidence remains to say so with certainty.
6.4.5
The Five Worlds of Darkness and the Way of the Midst
The five evil realms associated with the way of the Midst (
), however, may
well be tied to the Manichaean idea of the five worlds of darkness.
The five
Manichaean worlds of darkness are each associated with a dark element: smoke, fire,
wind, water, and darkness. Each is furthermore ruled by a being with a different
physical and sensory description, and each rules over a different subset of people: the
powers and authorities of the earth, the fire-worshippers, the idol-worshippers, the
baptizers, and the soothsayers (Keph VI 33.5-34.5). T. Pettipiece is persuasive in his
suggestion that these five sub-rulers are “a reflection of the compiler’s desire to
identify and attribute a particular governing spirit or authority to what he perceived
as five spheres of negative influence in the world;”110 i.e. the Sassanian kings, their
Zoroastrian clergy, traditional cults, Christians and other baptizing groups, and
107
See Table 3.3.
GosThom also mentions five trees in paradise; see saying 19.
109
S.N.C. Lieu, Manichaeism in the Later Roman Empire and Medieval China, 10.
110
Pentadic Redaction, 61
108
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elements of popular religion such as oracles and soothsaying. Thus the fivefold
division of the evil domains would reflect actual opposition or perceived negative
influences facing the group in the world. While the Kephalaia warns to “not interact
with them, so that you might escape their bond and their punishment forever” (Keph
VI 34.10-12), it does not give any details as to the nature or length of the
punishments.
The five great archons of the way of the Midst (
) also each have their
own physical description, albeit less systematically than the Manichaean versions.
Here, each archon rules over people who commit certain sins, such as anger/slander,
murder, swearing false oaths, fornication/adultery, or impeding justice and
neglecting the needy. This description of the evil realm and its rulers presents an
author or group more concerned with ethical behavior in its members than with
denouncing specific social or cultural groups and trends in the world. Furthermore,
these realms are specifically associated with punishments—although the archons
drive men to behave in these ways, souls that give in to their prodding and engage in
these sinful behaviors in the world are taken to be punished by these same beings.
These punishments are described in more detail than their Manichaean counterparts,
as the soul is consumed with dark smoke and wicked fire until the planets align for it
to be allowed back into the world. While the Manichaean author was concerned with
immediate apostasy and social pressures, the author or compiler of the Pistis Sophia
was focused on the more abstract temptations in the world, the ascetic and ethical
principles of the group, and the journey of the soul after this life.
6.4.6
Reverence of the Sun and Moon Apart from the Traditional Planets
This fivefold division of the evil realms may be in part related to the Manichaean
separation of the sun and the moon from the five other, evil “planets.”
The
demonizing of the five planets while revering the luminaries was unusual in ancient
thinking, and in fact in some instances Manichaean authors included the two
ascendants or lunar nodes to make up the more typical planetary number seven.111
The importance of the sun and moon in the Manichaean system has been discussed,
111
See Section 6.4.2.
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as they serve to transport purified light from the dark mixture of the world back to
the kingdom of light. The book in the Jeuian corpus dealing most extensively with
astrology, 4PSa, also holds the sun and moon apart, although its view of the other
five planets is more in line with popular thinking at the time (Saturn/Mars being
malefic, Jupiter/Venus being benefic, and Mercury being neutral) rather than
presenting them all as evil. The movements of the benefic planets can have positive
responses.
The later texts, however, cease to see the motions of the planets as having any
potential positive effects—and while in 3PS the “destiny” is still associated with the
way of the Midst (3PS 285, 287), the “five great archons” become tied to the
Heimarmene, or the zodiac (3PS 333, 334, 336). At this time the archons of the discs
of the sun and moon also join the great archons as they form the human body, but
their role is to breathe into the soul a part of the Savior’s power (3PS 334-336). Thus
these two entities are kept separate from the five evil planet-archons who knead in
their dregs and the evil draught of forgetfulness, and are still associated with the
higher powers. In 1PS we again see that the receivers of the sun and moon remain as
servants of the higher realms, as they take the light-power from the aeons, the
Heimarmene and the sphere, and present it to Melchisedek, the receiver and
transporter of light to the Treasury par excellence (1PS 35).
The five great
archons/planets are no longer as important as a set unit at this point in the timeline of
the texts, and the idea of evil has become focused on the archons of the twelve aeons
and the machinations of Authades.
The idea of divine power being imparted to human beings on their entry into
the worldly sphere is wholly alien to Manichaean sensibilities, and the sun and the
moon would have been thought to take light purified through the Elect as well as
from the archons. However, the designation of the five evil entities ruling five evil
realms, especially as seen in 4PSa, and their role in forming and subjugating
humanity through sin, could be seen as having Manichaean influence.
6.4.7
The Five Evil Realms and Division of the Zodiac
The division of the zodiac into five realms, each having “two” signs, is found in
differing forms in the Kephalaia and 4PSa. Keph LXIX discusses the zodiac and its
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divisions and relations with each of the five evil planets at some length, and while it
posits two signs per world of darkness, two of them have three associated signs to
make up the total of twelve. These divisions do not have an immediately obvious
logic: while the divisions of four sets of three later in the chapter are sorted by the
traditional four-element classifications, each evenly separated from the others in its
group, in the divisions by the five worlds of darkness they are scattered across the
board.
Furthermore, each of the five planets is associated with one of these
divisions, without regard to traditional ideas of planetary rulership of the signs. Its
seems that there was a perceived need to connect the zodiac to the five worlds of
darkness, but perhaps without great consideration of the significance for the way in
which this connection was made.
The 4PSa divisions solve the problem of assigning the twelve signs to five
realms slightly more elegantly, by pairing the signs in opposition and having the two
remaining as the dwelling of Zeus/Jupiter, benefic ruler of the planets. Rather than
having the five divisions “belong” to each of the five realms, it is through the
positioning of the benefic planets in them that they are related to and in fact serve to
aid in destroying each section. In a way, the sphere of fate is thus turned into a
positive force for human souls in opposition to the archontic rulership of the Midst
(
). By divorcing the planets from the five evil realms and not considering
them or the zodiac as purely evil, this system allows for more flexibility and balance
in tying the zodiac to the five archontic realms. Thus any Manichaean influence has
been subsumed into a new and innovative system.
6.4.8
Chariots of the Sun and Moon
As a final, speculative thought, it is intriguing to note that in a reference to the sun
and moon, it describes how the Living Spirit fitted their two chariots with “five ring
walls” each. In the case of the sun, “in each ring wall he fitted twelve doors. And
altogether there are 60 doors” (BT 4 no. 11 Pa).112
As has been established, 1 Jeu features sixty “Treasuries of the Light,” which
are said to be divided such that there are “two ranks of Fatherhood within, and one in
112
See P.O. Skjærvø, An Introduction to Manicheism II - Texts, 43.
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the middle, and two outside” (1 Jeu 83)—making sixty treasuries divided into five
sets of twelve, each with (at least) one gate. The possibility of associating Jeu with
the sun has already been suggested, and the idea of tying the Treasuries of Light in
their ranks with this image from Manichaeism is an intriguing one. However, there
is no suggestion that the Treasuries participate in gathering light, nor a higher realm
beyond the Treasuries to which one might ascend—none of the trappings of the sun’s
role in Manichaeism. As 1 Jeu seems likely to be the earliest of the texts in the
present Jeuian corpus, and thus the one most likely to originate at the earliest stages
of Manichaean development, might it be possible that a degree of influence might
have gone in the other direction? This format of 60 units in five sets of twelve is
highly unusual in ancient cosmological speculations, yet in 1 Jeu it is the centerpiece
of the divine realm, highly developed and described at great length. The reference in
the Manichaean fragment is associated with the sun and moon as vehicles for the
collection of light, but it is difficult to imagine what purpose the 60 doors would
serve for such a purpose. Perhaps the ascending pure soul and purified light in the
world would have been equated.
The source materials on both sides are too
fragmentary to say for certain, but it is a possible avenue for further investigation.
6.4.9
Summary of Manichaean Influence
It is evident that both Manichaeism and the Jeuian religion were evolving,
syncretistic entities, adopting and adapting traditions over time. Encounters between
the two groups may have been fruitful. Throughout the corpus of Jeuian texts traces
of ideas that are important in Manichaeism can be found, although the imagery
associated with the ideas is frequently dramatically different. The images of the
Virgin of Light and the Five Trees may seem on the surface to be some of the more
obvious ties, but a look at the way these elements function in the texts reveal that
their role and nature is quite different in each.
On the other hand, certain
similarities—the necessity of extracting light-elements from the archons and of
purifying their dregs in the world, the division and rulership of the parts of the realm
of evil or darkness, and the style of astrological speculations between the two
traditions—are at times striking. Although the Jeuian texts are certainly independent,
lacking certain key Manichaean features and possessing others that are wholly
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
against Manichaean sensibilities, it seems likely that at an early point in their history
a meaningful encounter occurred that would leave a lasting impression on their
cosmological outlook.
6.5 THE SETHIANS
Sethian (sometimes called “Classic Gnostic”113) traces within the Jeuian texts are
faint, yet present. As with many of the early non-mainstream esoteric Christian
groups, there has recently been much debate as to what constitutes “Sethian”
teaching.114 One of the most intriguing arguments comes from T. Rasimus’ study of
the Ophites, arguing for the differentiation of Ophite, Barbeloite, and Sethite material
in the body of texts frequently cited as “Sethian.”115 However, that proposal includes
the combination and blending of these various strands in different texts. This section
is not intended to discuss the finer points of these traditions and their boundaries, and
for present purposes, “Sethian” may be used as a heuristic term to describe the body
of texts that embraces all three strands.
It should be noted that the Untitled Text of the Bruce Codex is widely
considered a Sethian text.116 This means that, regardless of who authored the various
treatises, the compiler of the codex had both Sethian and Jeuian texts available.
While theologically there is little connection between the Books of Jeu and the
Untitled Text, the fact that tractates from the separate groups were geographically
present in the same area supports the notion that the sort of exchange of ideas
suggested here would certainly have been possible.
The Books of Jeu and Pistis Sophia lack most of the hallmarks of Sethianism,
but signs of the adoption of certain figures and concepts—albeit far removed from
113
See B. Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987), 5-21; B.A. Pearson,
Ancient Gnosticism: Traditions and Literature (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007), 51-100.
114
For example, H.-M. Schenke, “The Phenomenon and Significance of Gnostic Sethianism” in The
Rediscovery of Gnosticism: Proceedings of the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale, New
Haven, Connecticut, March 28-31, 1978, Vol. 2, B. Layton, ed. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), 588-616; F.
Wisse, “Stalking Those Elusive Sethians” in The Rediscovery of Gnosticism, Vol. 2, 563-576; J.D.
Turner, Sethian Gnosticism and the Platonic Tradition (Québec: University of Laval Press, 2001),
A.H.B. Logan, The Gnostics: Identifying an Early Christian Cult (London: T&T Clark, 2006).
115
Paradise Reconsidered in Gnostic Mythmaking: Rethinking Sethianism in Light of the Ophite
Evidence (Leiden: Brill, 2009). He also uses the term “Classic Gnostic” to refer to the Sethian corpus
(5).
116
See Section 2.1.8.
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their original context and significance—appear from 2 Jeu onwards. There is a
degree of mythological overlap that is not explicable without positing some
interaction with the Sethian system, but the Jeuians’ different understanding of
cosmic structure and theogony is maintained. The nature of the overlap does not
suggest a familiarity with any particular Sethian text as they are currently available,
but rather utilizes a selection of figures from Sethian teaching that would perhaps
have been the most prominent: those from the top of the hierarchy, and the ruler of
the bottom. The fact that the figures being adopted are used in different ways from
their original roles—primarily by demoting them from higher to lower status—
suggests that the Jeuian authors considered the Sethian system seriously enough to
need to account for it, taking those figures they felt were most important and fixing
them into their own system as they saw fit. This results in the characters in question
possessing entirely different natures from their Sethian originals. The fact that these
unique interpretations of the figures remain relatively constant (with some shifts,
which will be discussed below) supports the position that the Jeuian authors operated
within their own tradition and theological trajectory, accepting outside influences
only in the context of their own system.
6.5.1
The Sethian “Trinity”
The first traces of decidedly Sethian influence appear in 2 Jeu, in the journey through
the aeons. In the twelfth aeon the disciples are told they will encounter the invisible
god, the Barbelo, and the unbegotten god (2 Jeu 133). 117 This appears to be an
adoption of the highest trinity in the Sethian texts, epitomized in the Apocryphon of
John, which consists of the Invisible Spirit, the Barbelo, and the Self-begotten One
(Autogenes)—or Father, Mother, and Son. In that text, after the Self-generated one
is completed as son of the Barbelo via the Invisible Spirit, twelve aeons are given to
attend the Self-begotten (ApJohn BG 34,10-11; III 12,18-19; II 8, 22-23), and the
lower powers worship them: “I glorify and praise you, Invisible Spirit. For it is
117
The change of the title of the third member of the triad from Self- to Unbegotten is a curious one.
The term “unbegotten” is used with some frequency within the Sethian texts to refer to a variety of
beings; however, it does not appear elsewhere in reference to the third member of the original triad.
The significance of this change in terminology is uncertain, as this is the only appearance of the
Sethian trinity in the Jeuian corpus.
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because of you that the all has come into being, and (it is) into you (that) the all
(returns). I praise you and the Self-begotten and the three aeons: the Father, the
Mother, and the Son, the perfect power” (ApJohn BG 35,13-20; see also III 13,11-16;
II 9,6-11; IV 14,63-65).
In 2 Jeu this triad is far removed from the pinnacle of existence afforded it in
the Sethian world, placed within the twelve material aeons. Although “there are
many other gods in that aeon who in the Treasury of Light are called archons” (2 Jeu
133) who rule over all the aeons and serve these three, they remain firmly in the
material domain. The fact that it refers to “gods” who are known as mere archons in
the higher Treasury suggests that while the author knows the Sethian hierarchy, the
importance afforded to this trinity, and the various ranks unfolding below it, he views
it as misguided and blind to the true heights of reality represented by his own
theogony. The main point of the insertion of these figures appears to be a deliberate
demotion of them from spiritual to material entities. By placing them within the
twelve material aeons and stating that others wrongly call them “gods,” the author
emphasizes the superiority of his own system over that of the Sethians.
It should be noted that this triad is likely a secondary addition to a preexisting
list of aeons and their inhabitants. The typical pattern for each aeon (with some
minor variations in wording) lists the mystery name(s) of its archons: “When you
reach the (x)th aeon, the archons (…), (…), and (…) will come before you.” This is
followed by instructions to present the proper defenses, which include a seal, its
name, a cipher, and commanding the same archon names to withdraw themselves.
However, in the twelfth aeon, the description of the invisible God, Barbelo and
unbegotten god appears to have been inserted with little concern for continuity. It is
somewhat jarring after the flow of the previous sections. After this introduction,
however, the text continues with the usual pattern: “Again the archons of that aeon
will come before you.
z
These are their names: C
&
&
” (2 Jeu 133). This is followed by a seal, its name, a cipher, and a
series of different mystery names, suggesting further corruption has entered the text.
Despite the final corruption, the rest of the section corresponds precisely with the
pattern established by the previous aeons—with the exception of the block of text
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describing the Sethian triad.
The author or compiler of this text must have
considered this grouping of beings significant enough to require explanation within
his own preexisting system—by inserting them within the twelve material aeons and
demoting them from gods to archons, subordinate to his conception of the Treasury
of Light and the Godhead.
6.5.2
The Invisible God and the Triple Powered Ones
In 2 Jeu this slight to the Sethian trinity is immediately followed by the appearance
in the thirteenth aeon of the “great invisible God” and the “great virgin spirit” (2 Jeu
134). This may be a conflation of the Invisible Spirit of the Sethian primal triad into
two figures, as it was sometimes referred to as the invisible, virginal Spirit.118
Here
there is no trinity; instead there are “24 emanations of the invisible God.” This
combination is closer to that which is found in the later Jeuian texts, although the 24
emanations are not explicitly Sethian. The thirteenth aeon remains the domain of the
great invisible god throughout the rest of the texts, usually in conjunction with the
three triple-powered gods. The triple-powered ones in their 2 Jeu context will be
discussed presently; for the ruling entities of the thirteenth aeon here it is sufficient to
observe that again in contrast to their Sethian counterpart, this position at the
pinnacle of the material aeons, the place of the left, is the highest place they achieve
in the Jeuian system. In fact, the 24 emanations of the invisible god are envious of
the disciples for their knowledge of the mysteries and wish to hold them back,
returning to a sense of opposition that was lacking in aeons six through twelve. The
thirteenth aeon and its inhabitants, including its Sethian refugees, have an ambivalent
status on the border of the realm of the left—again, a far cry from their Sethian
equivalents.
The Triple-Powered One plays a complicated role in the Sethian texts. It
appears primarily in the ascent-focused treatises, Zostrianos, the Three Steles of Seth,
Allogenes and Marsanes. It is chiefly associated with the Invisible Spirit or the
Barbelo, and regardless of its nature, it is always close to the Invisible Spirit. Thus in
Allogenes “there appeared an eternal Life, the Invisible and Triple-powered Spirit”
(Allogenes 66,32-34); while in Marsanes “the activity of that one (the Invisible
118
See ApJohn II 14,4-5; GosEg III 44,11-12; 49,23-25; 53,16-17; 65,10-12.
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Spirit) is the Triple-powered One” (Marsanes 7,16-17). It frequently represents a set
of Platonic powers, such as Existence-Vitality-Mentality. 119
The Jeuian texts,
however, lack any concern with Platonic metaphysics, and the Triple-Powered One
becomes three separate triple-powered entities, whose “triple powers” remain
unspecified. In 2 Jeu alone are the triple-powered ones located apart from the
invisible god, placed above that entity in the Midst (
). Here they are superior
to the great invisible god and the Barbelo, poised to ultimately gain entry to the
Kingdom of Light by virtue of their belief in the mysteries of the Treasury of Light.
They are the only non-human entities that will be privy to the final mystery, thus
setting them apart from all of the lower aeonic beings, including those of high
Sethian origin now relegated to the aeonic regions.120
If their privileged position in 2 Jeu was meant to afford the triple-powered
ones of the Sethian hierarchy some merit, this honor is not shared in the rest of the
Jeuian tradition. In 4PSa they have assumed their more standard place alongside the
great invisible one in an unspecified area above the twelve aeons and below the
Midst (
)—apparently the thirteenth aeon.121 The great invisible one and two
of the triple-powered ones provide powers for three of the five planets. The invisible
one and one of the triple-powered ones are associated with the two malefic planets,
and the other with Mercury, the neutral planet. The third triple-powered one plays
no role in this text; although not named here, it is most likely Authades,
“Arrogance,” the great evil force of 1/2PS. It should be noted that the other two
triple-powered ones have “magical” names, and are thoroughly dissociated from any
concepts of Platonic reality. One of them, however, maintains a unique status: the
one called ( ) : C
C is associated with neutrality in 4PSa (356), and with
charge of souls who have not received the mysteries but who lived righteous lives in
119
J.D. Turner discusses the nature and relationships of the entities in the Platonizing Sethian treatises
at some length; see Sethian Gnosticism, 499-556; on the Triple-Powered One see especially 512-531.
120
2 Jeu 136: “…for those three archons are inside all the aeons, and they which are outside all the
treasuries are superior to all the gods which are in all the aeons…”
121
The archons of Jabraoth, who have taken the triple-powered ones’ places as those entities rewarded
for believing in the mysteries, are moved from the twelve aeons to a purified place “between the
places of those of the Midst (
) and between the places of the Invisible God.” (4PSa 356)
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CHAPTER 6 • FORMATION OF TRADITION
4PSb 382 (and although not specifically named, by inference in 3PS 262 – “one of
the great triple powers—these among which there is a great one”).
The other triple-powered one appearing in 4PSa has a nondescript role,
negative purely by association with the planet Mars, and as stated above, the final
triple-powered one represents the head of all evil in 1PS, full of greed, pride, and
arrogance. That he is not mentioned until the latest texts does not rule out these
associations; it is likely that a version of the myth of Pistis Sophia was extant at this
earlier state of textual tradition, but not presented in the text at hand. In fact, Pistis
Sophia takes the place of the third triple-power in the allocation of powers to the
planets—her devotion grants her association with the benefic planet Venus, thus
surpassing her triple-powered tormentor.
This discussion departs from these figures’ original association in the Sethian
hierarchy. The point is, their usual proximity to the invisible god reflects their origin
in a Sethian context, where the singular Triple-Powered One is either an aspect of or
near to the Invisible Spirit. While the multiplication of one figure into three may be
due to a misunderstanding on an author’s part, the texts still present a deliberate
skewing of the Sethian hierarchy. The invisible god and the triple-powered ones are
relegated to the thirteenth aeon, and their powers tied with the celestial bodies—far
from the Platonic ideals they once represented. The Jeuian mythology goes so far as
to demonize one of the triple-powers, miring it in lust for power and blind
materiality. This is another example of the Jeuian authors deliberately subordinating
the Sethian mythos to their own view of cosmic powers and origins—a nod to the
Sethians’ influence, but a decidedly degrading interpretation.
6.5.3
The Barbelo
The Barbelo in terms of the original Sethian Father-Mother-Son trinity has already
been partially discussed above. In the texts after 2 Jeu she appears in the thirteenth
aeon, replacing the great virgin spirit as the more typical consort of the Invisible
god/Spirit.122
122
The Barbelo was also sometimes referred to as a virgin, perhaps adding to the confusion and the
contributing to this substitution; see TrimProt 38,14; GosEg III 42,12-13; 62,1; IV 52,4; 73,11-12;
StelesSeth 121,21; Zost [36,23]; 63,6-7; 83,11; 87,10; 129,11; Marsanes 4,11; 8,29; 9,2; Allogenes
59,6-7.
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In 4PSa, the first hints at Barbelo’s larger role appear. After performing a
ritual over the disciples such that they have a vision of the light on high, afterward
they see in Jesus fire, water, wine and blood. Of these, the first two derive from the
Treasury of Light, while the latter two are from “the place of the Barbelo.”
Furthermore, while the water, fire and wine exist to purify the sins of the world, the
blood is “a sign concerning the body of mankind” that Jesus received (4PSa 368).
This appears to be an early version of the construction of Jesus’ incarnation that
appears in 1/2PS, wherein he receives elements of spirit, power, and material body—
the latter of which comes from the Barbelo (1PS 122; 2PS 128-129). In both cases,
the material body of the incarnation derives from the Barbelo, who dwells in the
material thirteenth aeon.
She is also the mother of Pistis Sophia (4PSa 356), who in 1/2PS is one of the
24 invisible emanations that “the great invisible forefather with the two great triplepowered ones” emanated (1PS 43). In 2 Jeu as well, the 24 emanations are tied to
the great invisible god alone (2 Jeu 134), as the triple-powered ones possess a higher
status.123 This, then, is the first suggestion of the Barbelo’s role in the generation of
the emanations. The confusion about her relationship with the 24 is further reflected
in one of Pistis Sophia’s repentances in 1PS, as she laments that “I have become a
stranger to my brothers, the invisible ones, and also to the great emanations of the
Barbelo” (1PS 48). This suggests a generative role for the Barbelo, but one distinct
from the 24 invisible emanations that belong to the invisible god and his triplepowered minions alone. The reason for this later reluctance to associate the Barbelo
with the 24 invisible emanations—which this author considers to be generally
ignorant beings—but the desire to associate her with the Pistis Sophia who believes
in the higher light, as well as her role in providing material for Jesus’ earthly
incarnation, can perhaps be explained through the concept of her function going back
to early Sethian notions of a descending Savior.
In the Sethian descent-pattern treatises, the Barbelo, as Mother of all, is at
least indirectly involved in Sophia’s emanation. She is the mother of the Selfbegotten, who in turn produces the aeons, including Sophia (ApJohn III 11,4-12,15;
123
Contrary to C. Schmidt, who names the Barbelo as the source of the 24 invisible emanations (Pistis
Sophia: Ein gnostisches Originalwerk, 71.
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BG 32,5-34,7; II 7,16-8,20). J.D. Turner notes that while “Sophia becomes the cause
of cosmogonic deficiency…on the transcendent level, the higher Mother (Pronoia,
Protennoia, Barbelo) must now undertake the restoration of this deficiency. She
accomplishes this by causing direct representations of herself to appear on the
earthly, human plane.” 124
The final manifestation often takes the form of a
masculine figure such as Seth or Christ. 125 In the Gospel of the Egyptians, the
Savior’s manifestation takes place through a body prepared “through the virgin,”
most likely the Barbelo (GosEg III 63,10-14; IV 74,24-30).
This body is also
“Logos-begotten,” and its material nature is not clarified, perhaps in fitting with the
higher nature accorded to its provider as well as its bearer. Thus, although the
Invisible Spirit is in these texts the highest being, the Barbelo is both involved in
Sophia’s emanation as Mother and works to repair the deficiency, including the
preparation of a Savior-body in some instances.
In the Jeuian texts overall, the whole of the Sethian hierarchy is demoted to
the material aeons. However, in the Pistis Sophia a number of theological and
soteriological developments take place. The group adopts a version of the Sophia
redemption myth, with (Pistis) Sophia remaining as the falling and saved element;
and in addition, with increased Gospel influence, interpretation of Jesus’ incarnation
becomes more important.126 In both instances, the Barbelo retains her prior role,
despite a greatly reduced prestige overall due to her new material nature. She is
presented as mother of Pistis Sophia, and she provides a body for the descending
Savior. This body is material, in accordance with the Barbelo’s new material nature
and as explanation of a material incarnation; this is in contrast with earlier versions
wherein she has a higher nature and the materiality of the Savior’s body is
ambiguous.
124
J.D. Turner, Sethian Gnosticism, 754.
J.D. Turner, Sethian Gnosticism, 754. There are variations on this theme between texts, but the
necessity of divine descent for salvation is consistent. The Nag Hammadi “descent” treatises are
comprised of ApJohn, TrimProt, Melch, ApocAd, GosEg, HypArch.
126
The discussion of his incarnation in 4PSa (368-369) appears to rely on more esoteric materials
from a combination of Matthew and John (the descent of the dove, provision of living water, wine as
blood of the covenant for forgiveness of sins, the spear wound producing blood and water). The lone
unique reference from Luke (12:49; “I have come to cast fire upon the earth”) serves to explain the
purifying fire Jesus brings, and does not necessarily signify the author’s greater knowledge of the
gospel. In fact, this passage is the only place in 4PSa to show significant NT influence, and may have
been taken from a separate tradition. See Section 6.7 below.
125
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Through these connections with the Savior and the lone believing emanation
of the thirteenth aeon, she becomes in a way elevated above the invisible god/spirit,
which in Sethian thought was the original, perfect principle, but which in Jeuian
terms is only a representation of matter (2 Jeu 133; 4PSa 373; 1PS 122; 2PS 128). It
is unlikely that the authors, with their low view of the Sethian divine entities overall,
would have attributed such positive qualities and associations to the Barbelo without
having retained it from their earlier sources. Furthermore, the fact that despite these
elements, in 4PSa she is still set to be destroyed along with the invisible god and all
three triple powered gods when the superior name is recited suggests that the author
still considers her nature to be material equivalent to those other entities, and thus she
is not afforded special status in the face of the divine mysteries (4PSa 373). Her
special attributes must be holdovers from an older tradition, and as the physical body
needed for Jesus could not derive from the higher, non-material regions, the author
saw no reason to change its source.
6.5.4
Jaldabaoth
Jaldabaoth is the misshapen, ignorant creation of the fallen Sophia in the Sethian
system. As a demonized version of the Platonic demiurge, he is responsible for the
creation of fate and the planets, as well as the material world and humanity. The
Jeuian texts lack detailed discussion of the creation of the cosmos or the evil entities
in proximity to it, and much of Jaldabaoth’s accomplishments in terms of fate and the
enslavement of souls are attributed to Sabaoth, the Adamas.127 However, Jaldabaoth
continues to appear, and may suggest a modicum of Sethian influence.
He appears first in 2 Jeu in the third aeon, followed in the fourth aeon by
Samaelo. These two names, along with the third name Sakla(s), are all used to refer
to Jaldabaoth in certain Sethian texts (ApJohn II 11,18; TrimProt [39,27]; HypArch
87,3; 94,25; 95,7-8). Much as the triple-powered ones are multiplied in the Jeuian
texts, the author may have mistaken Samael as a separate figure rather than as
127
Although both “Sabaoth” and “Adamas” appear in various versions of Sethian mythology, they
frequently take on a more positive role, and thus the evil “Sabaoth, the Adamas” in the Jeuian texts
apparently derives from a different tradition. Sabaoth the Good in the Jeuian works is described as the
offspring of Jeu and is consistently a resident of the realms of light, and thus is also not equivalent to
the Sethian Sabaoth, who originates from Jaldabaoth but later repents. See also Sections 4.3 and 4.5.
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another name for Jaldabaoth. Furthermore, these names seem to have been appended
to an existing schema of archons, sticking out dramatically among the list of
unfamiliar mystery names such as C
C
C and
.
It is likely no
coincidence that these names have been added in the first five aeons, those below the
“little Midst” that are associated with the west/left and fear of the mysteries. It is
possible that these two figures were added at the same time as the Sethian trinity, as
discussed above. Demoted from the position of arrogant world creator, they are
slotted in amongst the already numerous lower archons set to bar the path of the
uninitiated during ascent.
In 4PSb and 3PS, Jaldabaoth plays the role of the head of Chaos, where he
punishes wicked souls along with his 49 demons. Jaldabaoth’s realms are also called
Chaos elsewhere (HypArch 93,31; 96,11; TrimProt 39,21-27), and while in the
Apocryphon of John the Chaos consists of the five sublunar realms for which he
creates rulers (ApJohn III 17,19; BG 41,15), he is more frequently tied closer to the
seven planetary realms and their denizens. 128 The Chaos in 4PSb/3PS has a
somewhat ambiguous location given the multiplicity of punishment/underworld
realms present in those two texts, but it is certainly located below the twelve aeons or
fate-sphere. The 49 demons associated with him suggest a connection with the seven
planets, with an equal number of demons per planet and him as their head. However,
the traditional Greek conceptions of the planets still play a role in 4PSb. It is
possible the author deliberately does not mention the planetary connection so as to
provide him a role as a negative being in his system without conflicting with the
current interpretation of the planets. It should also be noted that his role here as
punisher is not reminiscent of the Sethian accounts.
Finally, in 1/2PS, he dwells in Chaos and is formed from the matter of
Sophia; however, his role is so distorted as to be essentially divorced from his
128
See Irenaeus AdvHaer I.30.5; Origen Cels VI.31; ApJohn III 17,20-18,13; II 11,26-12,6; BG
41,16-42,15; OrigWorld 101,24-102,2. Note that in OrigWorld, which has close ties to HypArch but
is not itself considered Sethian, the seven heavens over which Jaldabaoth rules are called Chaos
(102,2). This text also features 49 chaotic demons (107,1), suggesting the authors of 4PSb and 3PS
may have been familiar with its account—interestingly, these are also the two Jeuian texts that do not
feature the higher Sethian entities or the thirteenth aeon. See also T. Rasimus, Paradise
Reconsidered, 104, for a chart outlining the seven archons and Jaldabaoth’s position across textual
bounds. Although his inclusion of 2 Jeu in the list is dubious, the presentation of the other texts is
most helpful.
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Sethian precursor. Authades produces a lion-faced power to torment Sophia,129 and
it is after this power consumes her light that her matter is cast aside and becomes
Jaldabaoth; however, Jaldabaoth does nothing, and it is the lion-faced power of
Authades who continues to persecute her. His presence in the tale appears to be
solely to meet the criteria of an outside source the author is incorporating: the
“classic” Sophia-myth states Jaldabaoth is formed in Sophia’s folly.
Although
Jaldabaoth is presented with his traditional lion-faced description, 130 he is far
overshadowed by the arrogant Authades and the pious Pistis Sophia.131 Jaldabaoth is
thus perhaps a more tenuous Sethian connection, given the few characteristics
definitely traceable to Sethian tradition. However, given that the Sethian figures
incorporated appear to be those that were best known, the fact that his name and lionfaced description is secondarily included despite very little concrete information
given about him suggests it was consciously added to the tradition in light of the
importance attributed to this figure. Again, his inclusion involves a demotion: rather
than the creator of the world and fate, ruler of the archons, here he is given very little
power. Primarily relegated to a realm of punishment, he is granted power over
certain souls for a limited period despite having no role in their life or conception,
and in the latest phase he is himself answerable to a more powerful material entity.
Again, this would seem to be explicable through a cosmological system and
conception of materiality already being in place, and a position being artificially
created for this figure to account for his prominence in a competing theological
system.
6.5.5
Components of the Human in 3PS
Aside from these mythic figures, there is important evidence of influence from the
traditions found in the core Sethian text Apocryphon of John in relation to the
129
Notably her name is only Sophia, not Pistis Sophia, throughout this chapter (1PS45-46, ch. 31),
supporting the idea that its contents have been borrowed from a separate source.
130
For a discussion on Jaldabaoth/the creator and archontic theriomorphism, see T. Rasimus, Paradise
Reconsidered, 106-128. See also H.M. Jackson, The Lion Becomes Man: The Gnostic Leontomorphic
Creator and the Platonic Tradition (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985), and his discussion of the Pistis
Sophia, 26-34.
131
In ApJohn Authades is an epithet for Jaldabaoth (BG 46,1; II 13,27; see also HypArch 90,29;
92,27; 94,17); here Jaldabaoth is partly the product of Authades the wicked triple-powered one.
Although they share certain characteristics, the differences of both role and origin are too numerous to
assume a mere split into two entities.
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construction of the human being that appears quite strikingly in 3PS. Prior to 3PS,
the soul is the only element apparently present in the human being. While in 4PSa
and b there is much discussion of human souls being punished and cast back into the
world according to their sins, in 3PS the term “counterfeit spirit” (
! ! ! ! ) appears as a catalyst of sin, 132 in conjunction with the term “power”
representing an element from the realm of Light. These terms are key in the theory
of humanity’s formation and struggle in ApJohn, and although there are strong
differences in their nature and mythological background in 3PS, their appearance and
the way they are used suggests familiarity with some version of this text.133
The term
! ! ! ! is used in the short recension of ApJohn (with
alternate Coptic terms for ἀντíµιµον in the long recension). It derives from the
wicked archons, formed out of their memory of the true spirit that had descended,
and drives men to desire and intercourse. The power (c
in BG,
in
II/III) and soul appear to be interchangeable terms (ApJohn III 34,13-14; BG 67,12;
however in the long recension it is separate from the soul, II 26,16-17). Every man
possesses it, for without it, one would be unable to stand (ApJohn III 34,7; BG 67,47; II 26,12-14). Either the spirit or counterfeit spirit is then drawn into the person,
making him strong in the former case and leading him astray in the latter (ApJohn III
34,10-18; BG 67,7-18; II 26,15-22). The one the spirit enters will be saved and find
repose, while the one the counterfeit spirit enters will be reincarnated until they
acquire knowledge.
In 3PS, the basic components that form each human are the power (c
)
which derives from the Savior, without which the soul cannot stand (3PS 336); the
soul that is outside the power, formed from the dregs of the matter of the archons
(3PS 334); and the counterfeit spirit that is outside both of these, formed from the
132
In 4PSa in particular sins are brought about by the archons of the way of the Midst, each of which
rules over and causes a different type of sin. This makes the contrast of 3PS’ theory of the counterfeit
spirit deriving from the archons of the Heimarmene all the more striking.
133
See also the discussion in A. Böhlig, “Zum Antimimon Pneuma in den koptische-gnostischen
Texten,” Mysterion und Wahrheit: Gesammelte beiträge zur spätantiken Religionsgeschichte (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1968), 162-174. He discusses ApJohn and 3PS as both being Gnostic, but believes 3PS by
virtue of being later than the former has simply systematized and de-historicized the formation of the
human and increased the importance of mystery-piety over eschatology, not acknowledging the great
differences in myth and overall language between the texts.
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cup of forgetfulness of the seed of evil (3PS 334; compare ApJohn II 25,7; IV 39,45). Thus the power and the soul are distinct elements to this author, with the power
being the equivalent of the higher spirit in the ApJohn tradition. These elements are
furthermore sealed together; in particular, the counterfeit spirit is sealed to the soul
(3PS 286, 336). 134 At birth, all three components are small, but the additional
element of the destiny, which is bound to the soul but not a part of the main unit, is
large (3PS 281-282, 345).
Rather than spirit strengthening or counterfeit spirit
weakening the soul, each element grows through consuming the food of the world,
which also contains elements of power, soul, and evil/desires (3PS 282). Ultimately,
the only way for a soul to be saved is to receive the mysteries of light and to recite
them when it comes forth from the body, thus breaking the seals that bound the
counterfeit spirit to it (3PS 286-287). While the spirit plays the key role in saving the
soul in ApJohn, its equivalent in 3PS, the power, does very little. In fact, the use of
the term “counterfeit” or “imitation” spirit stands out as borrowed from an outside
source, as there is no “spirit” in the Jeuian system for the archons to imitate.135
The set of terminology used in 3PS—counterfeit spirit, soul, and power—
suggests the influence of the human formation theory found in ApJohn.
“
The
! ! ! ! ” in particular appears to be a technical term, which is not found
outside of these texts. However, the way these elements are put together, the method
by which they grow, and the ultimate mode of salvation for the human soul all reflect
a tradition unrelated to that found in ApJohn. It appears that once again, a prominent
theme has been taken from a Sethian setting and imported into Jeuian theory, altered
and subordinated to the Jeuian authors’ soteriological system. While in ApJohn the
one who is not led astray and instead flees from evil is saved, in 3PS the one who is
righteous and never sins is still not admitted to the kingdom of light without
receiving the mysteries (3PS 262-264). The technical terminology of ApJohn is
134
Another possible parallel in the creation process is the formation of the individual members of the
human body by 365 archontic powers or ministers (ApJohn II 15,29-19,3; IV 24,22-29,5; 3PS 342;
note that in the short recension of ApJohn, the number of angels is 360).
135
Note that in 1/2PS the Spirit becomes an important element, but these are the latest texts and reflect
the influence of a changing religious climate, which included a more standard tripartite division of
spirit, soul-power and matter (see Section 6.6.1). The bulk of the extant Jeuian texts do not give spirit
a role in human composition or salvation, if it is mentioned at all.
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included without an appreciation for its prior role, and the Jeuian mysteries remain
the sole mode of salvation.
6.5.6
Summary of Sethian Traces
That Sethian traces are to be found in the Books of Jeu, at least, should come as no
surprise, given that the Untitled Text in the same codex has long been considered
Sethian itself. Clearly whoever compiled to codex had contact with both groups. H.M. Schenke considered the Sethians to be a sizable community surviving and
developing over a long period of time. He points out, “Sethian mythic concepts and
ideas could easily spread beyond the limits of the group and thus, for example, gain
entry into writings of quite a different origin, into scriptures of other Gnostic
communities…”136 This appears to have occurred in the case of the Books of Jeu and
the Pistis Sophia. The traces that are found are versions of some of the most
prominent figures from the Sethian theogony, but they are altered to fit the authors’
own system: no pride of place is given to these beings, despite their original roles.
Clearly elements of the Sethian myths were considered forces to be reckoned
with, and are thus placed within the Jeuians’ scheme of the universe. Chief among
these are the Sethian first principles, which are displaced to merely the material
realm. Although they are generally considered neutral (with the exception of the evil
third triple-powered one, and the piety of all three triple-powers in the initial stages),
they are inconsequential in the face of the Jeuian higher principles and mysteries, and
are doomed to ultimate destruction. Perhaps the most obvious sign that they have
been transplanted from a more typical Sethian tradition is the role of the Barbelo,
who maintains links with both Pistis Sophia and the Savior/the earthly Jesus. Given
her present position these connections make little sense without the knowledge of her
original role as primal Mother and descending savior. Even if not intended as
deliberately subversive, the inclusion of these elements constitutes a radical
reinterpretation of Sethian tradition.
136
The Phenomenon of Gnostic Sethianism, 595.
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6.6 THE VALENTINIANS
When the Pistis Sophia and the Books of Jeu first came to light, they were essentially
the only documents available of a “Gnostic” bent not filtered through the distorting
lens of the heresiologists. As a result, many scholars were eager to detect signs of
one of the groups of which they possessed some knowledge through these works of
the Church Fathers. Valentinus and his followers, as the most prominent of the
heretics denounced in the early days of the Church, constituted the most desirable
group from which to obtain more concrete evidence—and based on heresiological
evidence of their widespread nature, perhaps the most likely group from which
materials might surface. Many scholars did indeed attribute the Pistis Sophia at the
very least to his school, if not the hand of Valentinus himself. Some found in the
material evidence that the heresiologists were correct in accusing him of teaching
wild and nonsensical mythos; others thought it to be a genuinely deep and insightful
tractate depicting his system, even if it was a bit obtuse. 137 With the discovery of the
Nag Hammadi library and its large number of other original documents that can be
classified as “Valentinian,” these views of the texts have dissipated.
Of the
characteristics that can be considered uniquely Valentinian in nature, again only
minor traces can be detected, and those in greatly altered form: the makeup of Jesus’
body from elements derived from non-hylic entities; the idea that Jesus/the Savior
acts to redeem (Pistis) Sophia and retrieve her from exile upon his post-resurrection
ascent, and the mode of (Pistis) Sophia’s fall. All of these elements appear only in
1/2PS, the latest texts of the corpus.
6.6.1
The Composition of the Savior’s Body
Although the number and order of elements that combine to form Jesus’ body in the
world vary slightly between Valentinian texts, the idea that his incarnation is
composed entirely of substances beyond this world is consistent. The combinations
serve to illustrate the Savior’s mode of operation in the world, or the nature of those
he descends to save. Thus, in texts with a concept of mutual participation of the
Savior—wherein he himself requires the redemption that he brings to humanity by
137
For discussion of some of these scholars’ views, see Section 1.4.2.
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virtue of his descent—he carries with him from beginning to end the spiritual body to
effect its redemption; whereas in texts assuming an automatically saved spiritual
element, the Savior descends upon the psychic Christ at baptism and departs again at
the crucifixion without suffering passion himself. 138 The main components are
generally as follows: 1) the spirit/spiritual seed of Sophia; 2) the psychic form or
element from the Demiurge; and 3) a tangible, but still not tainted, psychic
substance-body from the oikonomia; in certain versions there is also 4) the Spirit or
Savior which descends upon Jesus at baptism.
Irenaeus gives an explanation of the three types:
There are, then, three kinds: the material—which they call “left”—must of necessity,
they say, perish, because it cannot receive any outpouring of imperishability. The
psychic—which they also term “right”—stands midway between the spiritual and the
material, and consequently passes to whichever side it is inclined. The spiritual was
sent forth in order that, being linked with the psychic, it might be formed and educated
in company with it…From Achamoth he [the Savior] acquired the spiritual, from the
Demiurge he put on the psychic Christ, from the oikonomia he was endowed with a
body that had psychic substance, but was so constructed by ineffable art that it was
visible, tangible, and capable of suffering. (AdvHaer I.6.1 [from E. Thomassen, The
Spiritual Seed, 59])
The Pistis Sophia appears to have adopted this idea, but to have modified it and
stripped it of its original soteriological function.
There is a lengthy exegetical
section on Ps. 85:10-11: “Mercy and truth have met one another, and righteousness
and peace have kissed one another.
Truth has sprouted from the earth and
righteousness has looked from heaven” (1PS 119-125; 2PS 127-129). After an initial
interpretation in light of the myth of Sophia’s redemption, which was the focus of the
text to this point, Mary (the mother of Jesus), Mary (Magdalene), and John each give
an interpretation which expounds upon Jesus’ incarnational form.
Aside from the different combinations and explanations that each figure
gives, the overall building blocks are essentially the same: 1) the Spirit from the
height/the First Mystery; 2) a power (or soul) from Sabaoth the Good; and 3) matter
(or a power) of the Barbelo. The origins of each of these beings, based on the
cosmological ordering of the text at this point, are from the highest reaches or the
spaces of the First Mystery; the place of the right (Sabaoth); and the place of the left
(the Barbelo).
138
E. Thomassen discusses the composition and formation of the Savior’s body and its ties to modes
of soteriology across the various texts in detail in Part I of The Spiritual Seed: The Church of the
Valentinians (Leiden: Brill, 2006).
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This is fully in keeping with the types of the components listed by Irenaeus
and others, if a few things are kept in mind. First, in this text, in addition to having
no role in the formation of the Demiurge or the world, the Pistis Sophia is at no point
a spiritual being; she dwells in the thirteenth aeon (in the place of the left), and while
she strives for the light, she is not of the light, and she produces no spiritual
offspring. Thus, a spiritual element cannot be obtained from her. This is replaced by
the spiritual essence of the First Mystery, who is the highest being in existence (aside
from the Ineffable One, whose relationship with the First Mystery is not fully
explained). This spiritual element, furthermore, only comes down upon Jesus at his
baptism (2PS 123), and while in one interpretation it in passing serves to baptize the
psychic element from Sabaoth (2PS 128), it lacks the suggestion that this relates to
the type of beings eligible for salvation. Rather, it appears to have been adopted
from the version of the myth the author had at hand without great consideration of
soteriological implications.
Second, the formation of the world is not discussed, nor are the origin or
actions of the Demiurge presented. It is clear, however, that this author feels the
world is a negative place ruled by evil archons who exist to torment humanity—a
decidedly non-Valentinian viewpoint—and thus its formation would not be
associated with someone from the “right.” The psychic element, then, derives from
Sabaoth the Good, who explicitly dwells in the place of the right.
The final element, the physical aspect of the body, is the trickiest to explain.
In the Valentinian sources, Jesus required a physical body, but was still supposed to
remain separated from the material that was inevitably doomed to destruction; thus,
his tangible body was “woven…out of invisible, psychic substance, and, by the
power of a divine preparation, it came into the world of sense” (Excerpta Ex
Theodoto 59.4). In the Pistis Sophia, there is no explicit tripartition of elements, and
thus no need to dance around the taint of material as a whole by adding an additional
psychic substance. The Barbelo comes from the thirteenth aeon: the highest point of
the place of the left. It is beyond the base materiality of the lower twelve aeons, but
it is still firmly in the category of the material left. The author appears to draw on the
connection of the tangible psychic body with the psychic nature found in the earlier
Valentinian sources, as in John’s interpretation the matter of the Barbelo is always
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tied directly to the power or soul derived from Sabaoth. Furthermore, the Barbelo is
associated with Pistis Sophia, whether or not immediately as her mother. Thus,
although it is not a direct part of Pistis Sophia herself, Jesus does bring down an
element from her original place—it just happens to be the lowest element, not the
highest. In this way, Jesus’ body is formed from elements of spirit, soul and tangible
matter, or spirit, right and left.
It should further be noted that while the initial purpose of the explanation of
the composition of the Savior’s body was to discuss whom he had come to save and
in what manner, in the context of the Pistis Sophia these ideas are entirely absent.
There is no discussion of Jesus’ actions on earth or his passion. Although the Spirit
is said to come upon Jesus at his baptism, this idea is mentioned in passing, and is
divorced from notions about its relationship to the salvific potential of humanity. His
purpose on earth is solely to bring the mysteries to mankind; the idea of his bringing
forgiveness through baptism is related solely to the power of Sabaoth,139 while the
mysteries from the Spirit bring true potential to reach the heights. Although his
ascension eleven years after his resurrection does serve to reduce the power of the
archons and the accuracy of divination and astral magic, the mode of salvation is still
to be found in right living and the receipt of mysteries, not through the incarnation
and suffering of either a spiritual or psychic Savior. Thus, the entire discussion of
his bodily makeup derives from a perceived need for these elements to be present
upon the borrowing of a foreign myth, as will be further demonstrated below.
6.6.2
The Ascent of the Savior and (Pistis) Sophia’s Redemption
The necessity of Jesus’ descent to and ascent from the world to effect Sophia’s
ultimate reintegration into the pleroma is another Valentinian concept. In theory, it
brings an otherwise peripherally Christian myth firmly into a Christian context:
salvation and perfection cannot occur without the incarnation of the Savior on earth
and the awakening/purification of the spiritual elements in humanity that it instigates.
139
1PS 123-124: “It is this [the power of Sabaoth the Good] which baptised and forgave the race of
mankind and made them to be at peace with the Sons of the Light.” Also in 1PS 122, the “power
which was entrusted to [Jesus’] material body” baptized the race of mankind. However, compare
earlier in that same interpretation, where it is the Spirit of the First Mystery that forgives the sins of
the whole world.
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Valentinian systems favor two main encounters between Christ/the Savior
and the fallen Sophia: an initial encounter when Christ is either produced by Sophia
or sent forth from the pleroma to ease her situation, and when perfection of the seed
or offspring is achieved and she can return to the pleroma. In either case, a version
of Sophia is left with a sense of abandonment upon Christ’s initial departure, her
passions increase,140 and the descent of the Savior, Christ, or the Joint Fruit of the
Pleroma is necessary to help her return to the pleroma in the end.141 Although in the
discussion of the Savior’s body it is accepted that he takes a spiritual element from
Sophia, it is not clear how this element is imparted, and no reference is made to any
change in Sophia’s mental or emotional state or her overall position. As we have
already seen, however, the Savior’s descent into the material world does effect a
change in the salvific potential of at least some portion of humanity, whether it be the
spirituals, the psychics, or both.
In 1PS, Pistis Sophia is drained of her light-power upon her descent into
Chaos. The two-part restoration has here been extended into a three-part series of
visits by Jesus and Pistis Sophia’s gradual movement upward.
It appears that
initially there were only two visitations, but that it was extended to accommodate
Jesus’ ascension as key for her final restoration. As the story stands, Pistis Sophia
recites thirteen repentances and a number of songs of praise to the Light. Jesus/the
First Mystery (who looks without) visits her first at the midpoint of her repentances,
next upon the completion of the thirteenth repentance, and finally at the end of “three
times” when Jesus ascends through the cosmic realms and takes away the power of
the archons. It appears that in the initial version, Pistis Sophia should have been
restored upon the completion of the thirteenth repentance: one for each aeon she
traversed on her descent in pursuit of the false light. Jesus’ first visitation after her
seventh repentance serves only to lessen her strife somewhat: although he has not
received a command from the First Mystery (who looks within), he acts out of his
own compassion to move her to a part of Chaos that is “a little wider,” which reduces
140
For discussion of the role of emotions in the Valentinian myth of Sophia, see I. Dunderberg,
Beyond Gnosticism: Myth, Lifestyle, and Society in the School of Valentinus (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2008), Ch. 6, “Myth and the Therapy of Emotions,” 95-118.
141
See Irenaeus, AdvHaer. I.7.1; 8.4; Hippolytus, Haer. VI.31; although in TriTrac, the Savior’s
initial appearance results in an emission of joy that forms the spiritual element (91,33-95,17).
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the torments of the archons. She does not realize who it is that has helped her, and
thus does not suffer the increase of passions associated with Christ’s visit and
departure in the Valentinian myth. She continues with her pious repenting, and upon
the completion of the thirteenth, “at that hour the ordinance was completed of all the
afflictions which had been ordained for the Pistis Sophia, because of the completion
of the First Mystery…the time came that she should be saved from the Chaos and
brought forth from all the darknesses” (1PS 118). At the command of the First
Mystery, Jesus makes his second appearance, and Pistis Sophia’s own light power
that had been stolen by the archons is fully restored (2PS 131). This would be the
logical point to end the story: the symbolic number of repentances have been recited,
the command of the First Mystery to bring her forth from darkness has come, and her
light-power is fully restored.
The saga continues, however, artificially lengthened by the stipulation that
despite the previous statement that the ordinance of her afflictions was completed,
the Father, the First Mystery (who looks within) did not yet command that the evil
archons should yet be fully stripped of their power (2PS 168). 142 This partial
restoration now introduces the abandonment theme found in the Valentinian myth—
which otherwise has no obvious role to play here, as she has had all of her lightpower restored, and she lacks the deficiency of her counterparts in the other stories.
The abandonment does not result in the formation of passions or other beings; she
simply waits for the time she can return to her place, continues praying to and
praising the light, and when the time comes, is once again tormented by the archons.
This extension accommodates the mythic need of Jesus’ post-resurrection ascent for
Pistis Sophia’s salvation, which is otherwise unnecessary as she was not involved in
the creation of the matter or humanity that the Savior must descend to save in the
older myths.
142
It should be noted that this apparent change of heart appears in 2PS, while the statement that the
ordinance was completed is in 1PS. The seam between the two halves of the story is further visible in
that the style of interpretation of Pistis Sophia’s prayers is different: in 1PS, they are largely
interpreted by verbatim Psalms, whereas in 2PS, in addition to the Psalms the disciples frequently give
a great deal of point-by-point explanation.
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6.6.3
The Fall of (Pistis) Sophia
The theory that parts of the Pistis Sophia myth are taken from other sources is further
supported by the section detailing her fall. The initial problem is that Pistis Sophia
looks to the height, sees the light of the Treasury of Light, and desires to go there.
Therefore she ceases performing her own mystery in the thirteenth aeon, and instead
sings praises to the height, thus inciting the rage and jealousy of the evil Authades
who lives in the thirteenth aeon and desires to rule that place. As a result, he
emanated a lion-faced being and a variety of other emanations, and “he sent them to
the places below, to the parts of the Chaos, so that they should pursue the Pistis
Sophia there (
c ! c
!
!
) and take her power from her,
because she thought to go to the height which is above them all…” (1PS 44-45,
emphasis mine )
After this passage, there is a shift: Pistis Sophia is suddenly called only
Sophia.143 She is indeed persecuted by Authades’ emanations, but she is not pursued
below. Instead, she finally looks below and sees the lion-faced being, which is
suddenly described as a “light power.” As a result she desires this light, and she
thinks to herself, “I will go to that place without my partner, and take the light, and
create of it for myself aeons of light, so that I shall be able to go to the Light of
Lights which is in the highest height” (1PS 45-46). She voluntarily moves down into
the Chaos, and she is immediately surrounded by the evil emanations who take away
her own light-powers. As soon as she is in this situation, she is once again referred
to as Pistis Sophia, and her repentances begin.
Pistis Sophia’s initial desire for the light is apparently sinless, and it is indeed
sanctioned by the ordinance of the First Mystery (1PS 43). Authades’ initial plan is
to chase her into Chaos. However, there is a sudden shift such that her desire is no
longer pure, but misguided, and she plans to create without her partner
143
There are other places in the text where she is called Sophia only, but generally only as one-off
instances or in pairs. In this section she is called only Sophia five consecutive times, from the
beginning of the section suggesting she engages in sin until the beginning of her repentances. The
other exception is at the very end of the Pistis Sophia myth, where she is consistently called only
Sophia in the interpretation of her final praise-hymn upon restoration (2PS 181-184, or all of chapter
82), and also a few times in the preceding chapter giving the hymn itself. As this section highlights
Jesus’ role performing wonders among mankind as well as Pistis Sophia’s restoration, it is likely this
section also reflects the interpolating tradition.
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(
). This is a procreative act that has neither earlier basis—no reference is
made to other partners or their creating together; nor is there the idea of the Father or
Ineffable One creating on his own, so as to encourage her to imitate him—nor does it
have a result in the present story, as she does not ultimately attempt to create
anything and fail.
Rather, she simply wanders her own way into Chaos, and
immediately begins repenting as her light-power is stolen. The section discussing
her will to descend appears to be an insertion from another tradition, further flagged
by the shortening of the name to Sophia. The nature of the repentances themselves is
more in fitting with a fall that is pre-ordained and not the fault of the speaker,
focusing on her great faith and the oppression she experiences much more than
asking forgiveness for actual transgressions.
6.6.4
Summary of Valentinian Traces in the Pistis Sophia Myth
A number of signs suggest secondary additions to a pre-existing Pistis Sophia myth
that supposed a sinless descent into Chaos and her automatic return to her place upon
completion of a fixed set of prayers or levels of repentance. The discussion of the
tripartite nature of Jesus’ body inserted into an otherwise continuous block of
interpretations of Scripture relating to Pistis Sophia; the artificial lengthening of
Pistis Sophia’s sojourn below to make Jesus’ ascent from the world a part of her
restoration; and the sudden change of name and announcement of Sophia’s sin that
plays a role in her fall but which has no preamble nor relation to the following text,
all speak of outside textual influence of a Valentinian nature. But why would the
author choose to graft these themes, in divergent forms, onto the story, when other
key elements of the Valentinian myth—the creation of man and the world, the
Savior’s role in redeeming mankind through his actions on earth, and the
presupposition of Sophia’s spiritual nature originating from the highest heights—are
conspicuously absent?
The core belief system of the community from which this author originates
consists of a series of ever-heightening mysteries. To be worthy of these mysteries,
one had to live righteously—3 and 4PSb in particular go on at some length about
things that should be renounced or avoided, how one should behave, and descriptions
of the punishments awaiting sinners of particular types. Jesus always played a strong
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role within the group’s writings as a divine teacher, but relatively little attention was
paid in earlier texts to mainstream Christian scripture. In 3PS, there is evidence that
the group is being persecuted because of their beliefs; although Mary says that many
persecute them “for the sake of [the Savior’s] name,” it is unclear whether the
persecution would have been due to their claims to Christianity or to their other
doctrines (3PS 277).
By the time of 1/2PS and its rewriting of the Sophia myth, it is apparent that
associating the group’s teachings with more widely spread or mainstream Christian
scriptural texts had become a major concern. They are the latest of the texts, and
other influences are clearly showing themselves. A call is being made to apostolic
authority for their teaching, as well as adoption of an esoteric interpretation of the
annunciation story.
The association of Psalms and Odes of Solomon with the
utterances of Pistis Sophia that takes up the bulk of 1/2PS (46-184) further shows the
efforts being made to legitimize the background of their teaching. If this group was
located in a place where Valentinian teaching had a strong following, especially if
that following was recently introduced or growing, efforts to bring aspects of their
mythology into the fold would be equally important—as with all of the traditions
discussed in this chapter, giving it their own twist and without compromising their
own overarching principle that right living and receipt of mysteries were the true
keys to the Kingdom of Light. The ideas that Sophia sins (as she is not a true
spiritual being by their reckoning) and can only be recovered by Jesus/the Savior can
be incorporated without compromising their ideological backbone. Giving greater
importance to Jesus’ earthly history—the efficacy of his baptism and passion for
mankind—or moving Pistis Sophia’s position beyond her place in the left with the 24
emanations, would not be in keeping with that backbone, and thus are glossed over.
6.7 MAINSTREAM CHRISTIANITY
Having looked at the influence of certain early non-mainstream Christianities in the
Jeuian texts, one might wonder at the interaction of this group with what became the
orthodox Church. The inclusion of Jesus and his disciples from the earliest to the
latest texts might suggest that they developed under Christian influence from the
beginning. However, this is very slight evidence indeed, and only serves to show
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that Jesus was known as a bringer of divine knowledge and mysteries to his
followers, and that he was thought of by some to be a divine figure descended to
bring this knowledge. These are themes found in non-mainstream Christianity much
more than in mainstream Christian thought. Ideas of the role of his tenure in the
world as being efficacious are entirely lacking until 1/2PS, and even there it is
apparently a secondary addition to the group’s existing myth. It is possible that the
authors’ knowledge of Jesus came entirely from non-mainstream sources such as the
Sethians, and later the Valentinians.
NT (and indeed OT) allusions are minimal in the Books of Jeu,144 but become
increasingly numerous as one progresses through from 4 to 3 to 1/2PS. 145 The
overwhelming presence of Egyptian themes and Greco-Roman astrological and
magical concepts in the earliest of the texts has been discussed above. It seems more
likely that Jesus’ role as a divine revealer of mysteries was incorporated by this
group without direct access to Christian or Jewish scriptures or knowledge of either
maintream or non-mainstream Christian ritual practice, and that only later did the
group encounter other practicing Christians with their myths, rituals and scriptures.
These scriptures were gradually adopted, presumably showing their growing
influence in the cultural milieu of the group. However, all Christian scriptures were
not incorporated equally: apart from the Psalms that dominate the Pistis Sophia myth,
quotations and allusions stem overwhelmingly from the gospel of Matthew.146 The
text itself singles out Matthew, Philip and Thomas as those charged to record all of
the words and actions of Jesus (1PS 71)—which certainly suggests that the
traditional fourfold gospel of mainstream Christianity was either unknown to these
authors, or that they were not considered the true representation of Jesus and his life
and works. Beyond Matthew, whose gospel is represented in four of the five Pistis
Sophia texts (excepting the fragmentary 4PSb), a few NT references are scattered
throughout the Pistis Sophia. Perhaps most noteworthy are a small number of clear
144
Note that the introduction as posited by Schmidt is replete with NT allusions, but that this is not a
part of the Books of Jeu themselves; see Section 2.1.8.
145
On the use of the New (and Old) Testament in the Pistis Sophia, see A. von Harnack, Über das
gnostische Buch Pistis-Sophia (Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, 1891), 2-49.
146
On the prevailing use of Matthew in the earliest Christian writings, see É. Massaux, Influence de
l’Évangile de saint Matthieu sur la littérature chrétienne avant saint Irénée (Louvain: Publications
Universitaires de Louvain, 1950), particularly 420-455 on evidence from various pre-Irenaean
“Gnostic” groups prior to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi library.
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references to John in 4PSa in the discussion of baptism (Jn. 4.10; 14; 19:34; 4PSa
367-369), and in 3PS, Lk. 12:49-52 is known, also regarding baptism (3PS 299-301;
see also 4PSa 368)—however, these Lukan allusions have parallels in the Gospel of
Thomas (sayings 10, 16), suggesting they were available beyond the use of that
gospel. 147 Also noteworthy is the striking absence of references to Paul and his
writings—only one clear quotation is given (3PS 293-294, cites Rom. 13:7-8). Thus,
even if the Jeuian group or authors did have access to the collection of texts that
became the NT canon, they certainly did not view all of its contents equally.
It seems highly likely that the group possessed a different collection of texts
from those of mainstream Christianity.
As noted above, Matthew, Philip and
Thomas are considered to be the recorders of Jesus’ deeds and words, and indeed
Matthean allusions are the most prevalent in the texts. The gospels of Philip and
Thomas as have been preserved do not show obvious connections to the ideas found
in the Jeuian texts; it is probable they possessed different versions that contained
other traditions. Indeed, the “Gospel of Philip” mentioned by Epiphanius (Pan
26.13.2) discusses the ascent of the soul past the archons, and would seem to have
closer thematic ties with the Jeuian group than the text with that title found in Nag
Hammadi. Later, the Manichaeans were said to use both a Gospel of Philip and a
Gospel of Thomas (Timothy of Constantinople, PG 86.1.21C; Ps.-Leontius of
Byzantium, PG 86.1.1213C); considering the other connections that have been
demonstrated between the Jeuian and Manichaean systems, this may not be
coincidence. Given that significant scriptural allusions do not appear until 4PSa,
when signs of interaction with the Sethians are already prevalent, it is possible that
the Jeuian authors received the bulk of their Christian materials from nonmainstream movements. The lack of OT references might also be attributable to this:
if the group from whom they received their materials had a negative view of the OT,
then they would be unlikely to possess copies of it for reading or reflection. The
heavy use of Psalms in 1/2PS appears to stem from a later time when validation for
the group’s beliefs was being sought through interpretation of canonical texts and the
147
3PS also uses Lk. 12:47-48, 13:6-9, and 16:9; 1PS uses themes from Lk. 1 and 2, as well as a
reference to Lk. 22:28-30. However, all other Lukan allusions also have parallels in Matthew.
Compare to Matthew, which has potential allusions to 21 out of 28 chapters throughout all of the
texts.
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attribution of such interpretations to the disciples. However, given the evidence for
Valentinian influence at that stage, it is possible that the important view of these texts
stemmed from interacting with them and their “canon” or collection of texts rather
than a more mainstream source. Such groups also claimed apostolic authority for
their teachings, so it would be a recognized mechanism for theological validation.
Returning to the theme of baptism in the texts, it is apparent that baptismal
language regarding the water of life, fire, and Holy Spirit found in Matthew 3:11148
was known to this group, and that the technical term “baptism” was used in
purificatory or initiatory contexts by the time 2 Jeu was written. However, the
contents of the rituals themselves show minimal ties to any known form of Christian
baptism, mainstream or non-mainstream. 149 There is no immersion in water (or
indeed the presence of any water at all, aside from the transformation of the wine in
the first rite of “the water of life of the seven virgins of the light”). Although there is
fragrant incense that is used to draw an elaborate seal on the forehead at the end of
the ritual, there is no kingly or pre-burial anointing of the head or body, or sealing of
the sense organs.
Although linen garments are specified, there is no symbolic
stripping and donning of new robes. Those being baptized do not give a renunciation
of evil or a profession of faith, or indeed say anything at all. The inclusion of bread
and wine also may seem to have eucharistic undertones, but although they are
referred to as present and part of the offering, there are no associated prayers and no
attention is given to their significance or consumption. Nowhere in the texts is
association given between Jesus’ earthly body or salvific power and a ritual meal, so
the inclusion of these elements likely lacked such connotations for the author. In
short, all associations with rebirth, Jesus’ own baptism or anointing in either this
148
Although the terminology is also found in Luke 3:16, given the strong Matthean preference in the
texts as a whole, the reference most likely derives from the latter.
149
On the diversity of practice in early Christian baptism, see P.F. Bradshaw, Reconstructing Early
Christian Worship (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2009), 55-97; P.F.
Bradshaw, The Search for the Origins of Christian Worship: Sources and Methods for the Study of
Early Liturgy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 144-170. On potential significance of the
Sethian or “classic Gnostic” rite of the five seals, see J.-M. Sevrin, Le dossier baptismale Séthien:
Études sur la sacramentaire gnostique (Québec: University of Laval Press, 1986), 247-294; A.H.B.
Logan, The Gnostics: Identifying an Early Christian Cult (London: T&T Clark, 2006), 79; A.H.B.
Logan, “The Mystery of the Five Seals: Gnostic Initiation Reconsidered,” in Vigiliae Christianae 51
(1997), 188-206. On non-mainstream esoteric Christian ritual more generally, see J.D. Turner,
“Ritual in Gnosticism,” in J.D. Turner and R. Majercik, eds., Gnosticism and Later Platonism:
Themes, Figures and Texts (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2000), 83-139.
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world or the divine realm, or prayers to Jesus or a Trinitarian deity group, are
completely missing. Despite these differences, it is interesting to note that these texts
present Jesus as the one performing the baptisms, as Matthew suggests he will do,
but which never occurs in the canonical gospels. It would thus appear that the author
knew this part of the Matthean tradition and some of the terminology involved, but
that he had no idea of, or agreement with, the symbolism or nature of more
mainstream Christian rituals.
Perhaps the strongest evidence for early Jewish-Christian presence in the
texts is the name Jeu (
) given to the heavenly demiurge. The name likely
reflects a version of the Tetragrammaton, YHWH. 150
The process of divine
emanation is a chain: Jesus calls upon the name of his Father, so he will move Jeu to
emanate; thus Jeu brings forth the heads of the Treasuries of Light (1 Jeu 50). The
connection of Jesus with Jeu/YHWH in a creative capacity (with the Father involved
in an indirect manner, forming a trinity of divine beings) might speak for a Christian
context. F.C. Burkitt also proposes that the term “true god” used to describe Jeu in 1
Jeu is itself derived from the OT. 151 Additionally, the plethora of high-ranking
beings bearing the Tetragrammaton in their names, the pattern found throughout 1
Jeu, is also found in 3 Enoch for important angels.152 In that text, Enoch/Metatron as
a secondary power or “lesser YHWH” is also made ruler over seventy princes,
although he does not himself bring them forth, and they do not bear the divine name
(3 En 48(C):9). H. Odeberg suggests that the Pistis Sophia texts also may show
familiarity with the Enochic tradition—not least because they attribute the Books of
Jeu to Enoch.153 Certainly 3PS seems to refer to such tradition in relation to the
“Books of Jeu” (3PS 349), and 1PS makes reference to knowledge of magic brought
by the “transgressing angels” (1PS 25, 27, 29), which suggests themes found in 1
Enoch (7-8). On these points one must observe, however, that the Pistis Sophia texts
150
G.R.S. Mead, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten (1905; reprint: New York: University Books, 1960),
534; F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 86.
151
F.C. Burkitt, Church and Gnosis, 86; refers to Ps. 30:6.
152
See n.4 above.
153
H. Odeberg, 3 Enoch or the Hebrew Book of Enoch (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1928), Appendix II, 188-192. Some other possible connections with Enochic tradition have been
discussed in Section 6.2.5. Odeberg’s connections of Jeu, the two Jao-beings, and the little Sabaoth as
systematized manifestations of the roles of Metatron conflate these multiple beings and do not
appreciate the diversity between the various texts and the variety of influences that are present.
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are later than the Books of Jeu, and stem from a time when a variety of nonmainstream Jewish-Christian ideas were present, as has been demonstrated above; 1
Jeu bears more resemblance to the Egyptian Book of the Dead than to the Enochic or
Hekhalot ascent texts. It is notable that Jeu is responsible only for the organization
of the visible divine realms; he does not play a clear role in the creation of the world
or humanity as YHWH does.
This gives it distance from possible mainstream
Christian or Jewish influence. Furthermore, the Enochic texts were not considered
canonical in the widespread Jewish or Christian traditions.
Thus, there is little evidence clearly pointing to influence from mainstream
Christian sources. While interaction may have been possible, the adoption of texts or
concepts from non-mainstream Christian sectors—which would have shared certain
texts and reverence for certain figures with mainstream Christianity—seems most
likely, especially given the evidence already presented for transmission of ideas from
these types of groups. Outside of specific textual allusions, mainstream Christian
notions of rituals such as baptism or the eucharist appear only through nonmainstream lenses, and with apparently non-Christian roots.
The role of Jesus
himself is significant almost solely as a bringer of mysteries post-resurrection, and
his earthly life and crucifixion are rarely mentioned, let alone accorded importance.
The use of the names of Jesus’ followers to validate the group’s views also might
reflect the increasing presence or influence of non-mainstream Christianity, which
itself made claims to apostolic authority for validity. While there is certainly a
demonstrable increase in the use of canonical texts from the earliest to the latest
content—in the final texts particularly in the form of Psalms used for mythological
allegory—these elements could just as easily have come from non-mainstream
sources. Valentinianism in particular was quite close to mainstream Christianity in
terms of its outward practices and utilization of texts that became canonical, and
given the secondary Valentinian elements detectable in the Pistis Sophia myth with
which the Psalms are associated, such influence is perhaps more likely than an
encounter with mainstream Christianity.
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6.8 CONCLUSIONS
A wide variety of religious influences can be detected in the Books of Jeu and the
Pistis Sophia, some stronger and more widespread than others. From its essentially
Egyptian origins, the effects of Greco-Roman astrological and magical culture,
Manichaean ideas of light purification and material creation, Sethian mythological
reinterpretation or polemic, and Valentinian notions of the fall of Sophia and the
Savior’s ascent all make their way into these Jeuian pages. The stars move from the
pinnacle of existence to the tool of the cosmic tyrants; figures of power from other
traditions are either given new roles in the light realms or demoted as they are
secondarily incorporated; and Jesus’ incarnation receives some added significance
after his history primarily as a revealer of mysteries. It is clear that these ideas were
considered significant enough by the authors to require some explanation in the
context of the Jeuian tradition.
Without an understanding of the nature and
incorporation of these elements, much of the texts remain a mysterious, even
nonsensical, mishmash, as many scholars have perceived them.
Ultimately these influences remain primarily a secondary veneer.
The
syncretistic tendencies of the group for the most part simply add layers to an existing
belief substructure. The original significance of the outside concepts incorporated is
often lost as they are fitted into the existing structure. While the group or authors
clearly made an active effort to explain or incorporate traditions that were seen as
either important or potential threats, the keys to real truth and salvation remained
firmly in the power of the mysteries of light—such as the twin saviors, the three
amens, or the seven voices—which made up their central core. The details of these
are not preserved in the remaining texts or fragments, and were likely considered too
important to be written down.
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CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSIONS
The Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia, not fitting in with any of the main pagan,
mainstream Christian, or non-mainstream esoteric Christian groups known to
scholarship through heresiological evidence, have long been ignored by scholarship
or relegated to passing footnotes. As was demonstrated in the introduction, even
amongst the little work that has discussed these texts at any length, they have been
most often belittled as incoherent products of ignorant bumpkins with little value,
either in and of themselves or for the study of the development of Christianity. This
thesis set out to examine these Coptic esoteric Christian texts, to determine whether a
consistent system might be found within them in their own right. By critically
reading the texts in the chronological order proposed in this thesis—from earliest to
latest, 1 Jeu, 2 Jeu, 4PSa, 4PSb, 3PS, and finally 1 and 2PS—a coherent theogonic
and cosmological ideology has been demonstrated, with their evolution over the
period of their composition and collection becoming apparent. It has been argued
that these texts belonged to a distinct religious group writing and practicing in
approximately third to fourth century Egypt, with their own complex and evolving
system of cosmology, baptismal or initiation rituals, liturgical prayers, mythological
speculation, and religious and ethical prescriptions and proscriptions.
As this
research has shown, their texts and practices deserve to be studied in their own right.
Against arguments that these texts may represent simply literary products by
individual authors, not meant for use in worship or religious practice by a larger
community, it was demonstrated in Ch. 2 that evidence strongly points to community
use. Unlike certain, more literary Hekhalot or Jewish-Christian ascent texts, their
contents do not present a story for contemplation, but rather they give explicit
instructions without narrative embellishment for ritual, prayer and ascent that are
clearly meant for reproduction by the group’s followers. They are presented in an
earthly, group context. Jesus tells the disciples, “to all men who come before you
and believe in you and hear your words and do what is worthy of the mysteries of the
light, give to them the mysteries of the light and do not conceal them from them”
(3PS 280). Thus these mysteries must be passed on and spread to as many people
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who are willing to believe and live by the group’s precepts. Furthermore, there is
precedent for these types of practices in known religious circles. There is also the
suggestion within the texts that this group was persecuted for its beliefs,
demonstrating a sense of community among its practitioners. This was a group that
was very concerned with mission and community, as well as right living and
practice.
The codices were compiled at some point after the texts’ original
composition, and the texts as we have them are themselves compilations from other
sources. This was shown in Chs. 3 and 4, building in part on C. Schmidt and G.R.S.
Mead’s earlier analyses, through the exploration of the development of cosmology
and key figures. Occasionally the compiler has preserved multiple, slightly differing
accounts of the same outline or event within the same text, as with the lists of
mysteries in 2 Jeu and 1/2PS, or the descriptions of Jesus’ ascent through the hostile
archontic realms in 1PS. It is thus apparent that beyond the texts that are preserved
today, a larger number of texts or traditions existed originally. However, despite the
slight variations in these accounts, or even apparently larger shifts between texts, a
remarkable consistency underlies the core of all of the texts. It was established in
Ch. 3 that between 1 Jeu and 1 and 2PS—those texts with the largest temporal gap
and apparent variation in cosmological outlook—in fact, the core of the mysteries
needed for salvation and their outline is essentially the same, but clothed in different
language. The mysteries of the Treasury of Light in the first texts are the mysteries
of the First Mystery and the Ineffable in the last.
The reason for the changes in terminology and the veiling of the role or
nature of certain figures and concepts is explicable through an analysis of the way
outside religious themes and ideas are adopted or presented in the texts. Ch. 6
showed that the group that created these texts arose in an Egyptian context, with
strong astrological leanings. Early on they had encounters with Sethians, whose
theology they considered inferior or erroneous, but threatening enough to require
response. Thus, the names of the Sethian high trinity were incorporated in the
outline of the material realms to show their inferiority, and their heads of evil were
made into minor demons surpassed with ease. They apparently also had interactions
with Manichaean views that were more positive, with Manichaean language of light
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collection from the archons also appearing early in the Pistis Sophia texts. Only later
do notions that might be considered Valentinian appear, such as certain speculation
on the composition of the Savior’s body and the fall and redemption of Sophia.
However, as was demonstrated, these ideas were adopted without consideration of
their wider theological implications, and the underlying soteriology remained the
same. It appears that in the group’s final stages, a form of Valentinianism had
become a strong force in their cultural milieu, so attempts were made to incorporate
some of their language on the surface to maintain a competitive edge in the religious
climate. The increasingly specific calls to Scripture and apostolic authority may also
stem from such non-mainstream esoteric Christian influence.
It remains now to say some words on the nature of the group that produced
these texts, here called the Jeuians after their allocation of the role of cosmocrator to
the being called
. Speculation about cosmology dominates much of these texts:
the mysteries providing the keys to ascend through the cosmos were of utmost
importance to this group, so knowledge of the cosmic outline was also vital. They
acknowledged essentially three main divisions to the universe: the place of the left,
or the material realms including the stars, planets, and sublunar realms; the place of
the right, or the Treasury or Kingdom of Light; and the Midst, or the intermediate
realm between the two. There is some variation in the specifics of this outline
between texts, but these basic subsets appear to remain essentially the same.
Contrary to the teachings of some early non-mainstream esoteric Christian groups, in
the early stages of the Jeuian texts, the visible stars are considered the ultimate
destination of the soul, reflecting their Egyptian background. Although in the later
texts a more negative view of the starry realms is adopted, the structure of the divine
abodes where the initiate ascends after death remains the same. It is because of this
shift that Jeu’s position appears to be in flux: as the one who organized the visible
cosmos, he is initially portrayed as second only to the unapproachable God and
Jesus, while later this identical role of cosmic organization is degraded. As noted
above, however, despite changes in language used to refer to the highest realms, their
structure and contents appear to remain essentially the same from beginning to end.
This group believed there was only one way to achieve salvation: the
mysteries of light that give access through the various cosmic realms to ascend to the
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height. These mysteries were what Jesus came into the world to deliver, and only
this group could provide them. Prior to receipt of the mysteries, however, one had to
demonstrate belief and dedication to the group’s precepts through a lengthy initial
period of living according to their strict moral code. After a sufficient period, a
complex series of baptisms or purification rites were required, which were
administered to groups of initiates at a time. These involved incense offerings, seals,
prayer, and ritual meals of bread and wine for the initiates. Hymns and group
prayers were also a key part of their practice, with several of these recorded for
liturgical use. After being thus purified, group members were taught a series of
magical names, numbers and seals for use in postmortem ascension, which may or
may not have been meditatively practiced in life as well. As discussed in Ch. 5,
these mystical passwords and diagrams were classified into different types, and are
recorded in great detail in 1 and 2 Jeu. Although they are lacking in the Pistis
Sophia texts, their use is passively referenced and still assumed.
The later Pistis Sophia texts in particular appear to be introductory: they
present a beginner’s outline to the universe, and incorporate stories and veiled
language that would be expected in such texts. The more advanced initiate is guided
to the Books of Jeu to receive the mysteries of the inheritances of light, where this
information is presented plainly. There were different levels of group membership:
neophytes proving themselves through adherence to the group’s rules; initiates
eligible for baptism; and more advanced members who had access to deeper
knowledge and increasingly lofty mysteries. Transgressing the ethical and moral
rules of the group at any stage before or after receiving these mysteries did not
automatically cause one to be cast out: the system had provisions to allow for second
chances, both in this life and the next. People who received the mysteries but
transgressed could receive higher mysteries to wipe out past sin, and the mystery of
the Ineffable could forgive any wrong. For those who lived righteously but did not
find the mysteries, it was believed they would be reincarnated into a wise body that
would certainly find them. For those who lived in wickedness, after a period of
intense punishment, they, too, would be reincarnated and given a chance to find the
light. These characteristics serve to demonstrate that these texts are the product of a
group with a defined structure and system of beliefs and practices.
252
CHAPTER 7 • CONCLUSIONS
Having presented an overview of the system lying behind the Books of Jeu
and the Pistis Sophia, a number of avenues remain for further research. A thorough
analysis of the rituals described in great detail in 2 Jeu and 4PSa was not possible
within the scope of this thesis, and indeed they deserve a treatment of their own.
They present a unique glimpse of the multifaceted system of symbols used by the
group in their initiations, as well as their creative use of well-known magical ritual
technologies. Furthermore, although the use of the Psalms and Odes of Solomon in
the myth of Pistis Sophia’s fall and redemption has received some scholarly
attention, the framing story also deserves a new in-depth analysis in light of the
obvious interpolations and outside influences. Traces of the original story remain,
presenting an image of a persecuted figure who can be redeemed purely through the
power of prayer, repentance, and recognition of the true mysteries or light, without
original sin or the need of the Savior’s incarnation to restore the heavenly fullness.
Beyond these suggestions, a great deal remains to be gleaned from further analysis of
this body of texts. Hopefully, this thesis will stimulate further scholarly conversation
on these texts and the system of ideas that lies behind them.
The codices remaining today were likely compiled well after the composition
of the original texts, by scribes who perhaps were not members of the group to which
they belonged. Despite this, the Books of Jeu and the Pistis Sophia in their current
form still present a relatively sizable body of information about a separate, unique
group with a distinct system of beliefs and practices. This thesis has demonstrated
that they feature a largely consistent cast of divine figures and cosmological theory,
and where deviations occur, possible explanations within a wider cultural context
have been shown. Throughout all of the texts, receipt of the mysteries of light
combined with adherence to a strict moral code remained the only way to attain a
positive afterlife.
Despite the superficial changes or additions stemming from
interactions with surrounding religious and cultural phenomena over time, these
processes seem to have maintained their basic form. In light of this overview of
these texts’ structure and contents, perhaps they may be no longer regarded as purely
a confused mishmash, and rather become better appreciated as important historical,
religious documents emerging from the dynamic religious climate of the first
centuries of the Common Era.
253
APPENDIX
RANKS OF THE TREASURY OF LIGHT (2 JEU 119-125):
FULL LIST
This is the longest of lists of ranks in the Treasury of Light found in any of the texts,
and it did not entirely fit in Table 3.3 in either size or overall contents. The first part
of the list was included in the table because it demonstrates that the main ranks found
in all of the lists are present. However, the majority of entries on this list are unique
within the Books of Jeu. It is interesting that this list is the only place to mention the
Great Sabaoth and the Great Jao in the whole of the Books of Jeu, despite their
important roles in the Pistis Sophia. The list likely represents a deviant tradition,
similar to that found in the list of knowledge of the Mystery of the Ineffable (Table
3.2); in fact, although they are not apparently directly related, the two share some
elements that are not found elsewhere in the texts. The list is included here for
reference and completeness.
•9 Watchers of ToL
•3 Amens
•Child of the Child
•Great Sabaoth (of ToL)
•Great Jao the Good (of ToL)
•7 Amens
•5 Trees/ Unmoved Trees
•7 Voices
•Incomprehensible Ones
•Endless Ones
•Pre-hyper Incomprehensible Ones
•Pre-hyper Endless Ones
•Undefiled Ones
•Pre-hyper Undefiled Ones
•Unmoved Ones
•Hyper-Unmoved Ones
•Fatherless Ones
•Pre-fatherless Ones
•5 Incisions
•3 Spaces
•5 Helpers of ToL
•Triple-spirited Ones
•Triple-powered Ones (of great king of ToL)
•First Ordinance
•Inheritance
•Silence + Rest
•Veils (before king of ToL)
•Great Man/King of ToL/Jeu
•Place surrounding ToL (+ Jeu again)
•Gates of 2nd ToL + Watchers
•Triple-powered ones (names given)
•12th Rank of 12th Great Emanation (of true God)
•True God
•Unapproachable God (unreachable)
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